LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

GIFT  OF 

MRS.   MARY  WOLFSOHN 

IN   MEMORY  OF 

HENRY  WOLFSOHN 


EKlKfc^Jfcr^r^r^aPa^E 


ft)?-  Altj+inJiiiZ  Washington  J,i 


WASHINGTON 


AND    HIS 


MASONIC    COMPEERS. 


BY 

SIDNEY    IIAYDEN, 

PAST   MASTER   OF   HT7RAL   AMITY   LODGE,  NO.    70,    PENNSYLVANIA. 


XUustratetJ  toftj)  a  copij  of  a  $aasonfc  $ortraft 

PAINTED  FROM   LITE,   NEVER  BEFORE  PUBLISHED, 

WITH  NUMEROUS  OTHER  ENGRAVINGS. 


"  The  memory  of  a  brother  is  precious  ;      ^^^^f^M^Y 
I  will  write  it  here." 


NEW   YORK : 
MASONIC  PUBLISHING  AND  MANUFACTURING  CO. 

432    BROOME    STREET. 
1869. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1S66, 

BY    SIDNEY    IlAYUtN, 

It  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  lor  the  Western 
District  of  Pennsylvania. 


TO   THE 

HON.    JOHN    L.   LEWIS', 

PAST    GRAND   MASTER   AND   PAST   GRAND   HIGH   PRIEST   OF   NEW   YORK, 

II     E.    GENERAL    GRAND    HIGH    PRIEST   OF   THE    GENERAL   GRAND    CHAPTER    OF 

THE   UNITED   STATES,    ETC., 

&  I)  i  s    §  o  o  h 

IS    FRATERNALLY    DEDICATED, 

AS     A     SLIGHT     TESTIMONIAL     OF     RESPECT     FOR     AN     EMINENT      MASON     AND 

DISTINGUISHED    FELLOW-LABORER   IN  THE    QUARRIES    OF 

AMERICAN  MASONIC    HISTORY, 

BY   HIS 
SINCERE    FHIEXD    AND    MASONIC    HROTHER, 

THE   AUTHOR. 


PREFACE. 


BIOGRAPHIES  of  WASHINGTON,  and  the  most  eminent  of  our 
countrymen  who  were  conte'mporary  with  him,  have  been 
often  written  so  far  as  relates  to  their  public  acts,  and  in 
many  of  them  we  have  also  a  portraiture  of  their  personal 
and  domestic  history.  Such  delineations,  interwoven  with 
their  memoirs,  give  us  a  truer  estimate  of  the  character 
of  the  individual,  and  enable  us  to  weigh  with  more  ex- 
actness the  impulses  and  influences  that  have  impelled  or 
retarded  him  in  his  public  career. 

Ancestry  and  kindred,  domestic  and  social  scenes 
in  youth,  mental,  moral,  and  religious  training,  are 
the  germs  of  character ;  and  after  stepping  from  the 
threshold  of  youth  upon  the  platform  of  manhood,  each 
foot-print  in  the  onward  path  of  life  bears  some  impress  of 
past  and  passing  associations.  These  are  therefore  a 
part  of  ever}r  individual's  true  history,  and  his  biography 
is  imperfect  without  them.  History  is  but  a  compound 
of  these  influences  and  actions,  and  each  is  a  lamp  to 
enlighten  its  pages.  Extinguish  it,  and  a  shadow  falls  on 
some  line  of  truth. 


6  PREFACE. 

Our  historians  and  biographers  feeldom  mention  a  Fra- 
ternity which  has  existed  in  this  country  from  its  early 
colonial  existence,  and  embraced  in  its  membership  a  large 
number  of  our  countrymen  whose  names  are  inscribed  on 
our  literary,  civil,  and  military  rolls  of  honor.  Has  this 
arisen  from  a  prejudice  against  the  institution  of  Masonry, 
or  from  a  belief  that  its  influences  are  unimportant  ? 

The  virtues  which  ennoble  human  character,  are  taught 
and  cultivated  in  the  lodge-room  ;  and  the  mystic  labors 
of  the  Master  and  his  Craftsmen  when  convened,  are  such 
as  fit  men  for  the  domestic  relations  of  life  and  the  highest 
duties  of  citizenship.  WASHINGTON,  with  a  full  knowledge 
of  the  subject,  wrote  :  "  Being  persuaded  that  a  just  appli- 
cation of  the  principles  on  which  the  Masonic  Fraternity  is 
founded,  must  be  promotive  of  virtue  and  public  prosperity, 
I  shall  always  be  happy  to  advance  the  interest  of  the  Society, 
and  be  considered  by  them  a  deserving  brother." 

As  this  part  of  WASHINGTON'S  history  has  been  entirely 
omitted  by  his  biographers,  and  studiously  misrepresented 
by  pamphleteers,  the  author  of  these  sketches  has  made  a 
diligent  research  in  veritable  records  and  documents  of  the 
last  century  for  information  on  the  subject.  He  has  grate- 
fully to  acknowledge  the  assistance  of  many  eminent  Ma- 
sons in  this  labor.  Every  Grand  Master  who  was  applied 
to,  gave  a  cheering  commendation  and  assent  for  a  full 
examination  of  all  records  in  his  jurisdiction ;  and  officers 
and  members  of  lodges  were  ever  ready  to  render  all  the 
aid  in  their  power. 


PREFACE.  7 

The  brevity  of  many  early  Masonic  records,  and  the 
entire  loss  of  others,  have  left  some  parts  of  our  work  ap- 
parently unfinished  in  leading  facts  ;  and  time  has  silenced 
every  tongue  that  a  half  century  ago  might  have  given 
interesting  details  of  incidents,  to  which  existing  records 
sometimes  barely  allude.  The  unrecorded  incidents  in  the 
Masonic  life  of  WASHINGTON,  which  his  compeers  used  to 
relate  with  so  much  satisfaction,  are  now,  in  the  eye  of 
history,  among  the  uncertain  traditions  of  the  past,  and  we 
have  given  few  of  them  a  place  in  our  sketch  of  his  Ma- 
sonic life.  We  have  preferred  the  broken  fragments  of 
veritable  records,  to  traditions,  however  pleasing,  and 
apparently  reliable. 

WASHINGTON'S  Masonic  history  might  have  been  given  by 
his  contemporaries,  in  all  its  proportions,  with  fulness  of 
detail.  Now,  it  is  like  a  beautiful  column  in  ruins, — its. 
parts  broken,  scattered,  and  moss-grown.  We  have  labored 
industriously  to  collect  these  Parian  fragments,  and  only 
wish  some  hand  more  skilful  than  our  own,  might  have 
given  each  its  due  place  and  polish  in  the  most  beautiful 
pillar  of  the  temple  of  American  Masonry.  We  have  faith- 
fully used  the  gavel,  the  square,  and  the  trowel  in  our 
work,  and  confidently  submit  to  the  Overseers  all  which 
pertains  to  their  use.  With  the  mallet  and  engraver's 
-chisel  we  are  less  skilled,  and  the  Masonic  connoisseur  will 
perhaps  find  in  this  part  of  our  work  little  to  admire.  We 
have  not  presumed  to  engrave  any  lines  of  beauty  of  our 
own,  but  hope  the  eye  will  not  look  in  vain  for  them  in  the 


8  PREFACE. 

memorial  stones  we  present,  which  were  wrought  by  the 
hands  of  WASHINGTON   and  his  Masonic  Compeers. 

Of  the  Compeers,  we  have  not  written  labored  sketches. 
We  have  only  given  such  Masonic  facts  as  came  under  our 
observation  in  our  researches  in  the  Masonic  history  of 
WASHINGTON  ;  but  in  each  case,  they  are  from  veritable 
records.  While  they  establish  the  Masonic  brotherhood  of 
the  individual,  wo  hope  they  may  throw  some  light  on  his 
character,  and  make  his  memory  more  dear  to  our  Ameri- 
can brethren. 

THE  AUTHOR. 


CONTENTS. 


PART   I. 

DEDICATION 3 

PREFACE 5 

WASHINGTON 13 

PART  II. 
MAJOR  HENRY  PRICE. 

PORTRAIT 

First  Grand  Master  in  New  England 233 

SIR  WILLIAM  JOHNSON. 

PORTRAIT. 

Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs  in  New  York,  and  first  Master 
of  St.  Patrick's  Lodge,  on  the  Mohawk 245 

SIR  JOHN  JOHNSON. 

The  last  Provincial  Grand  Master  of  the  first  Grand  Lodge  of 
New  York 254 

PEYTON  RANDOLPH. 

PORTRAIT. 

First  President  of  the  Continental  Congress,  and  last  Provincial 
Grand  Master  of  Virginia 260 


10  CONTENTS. 

EDMUND  RANDOLPH. 

Governor  of  Virginia,  and  Grand  Master  of  Masons  in  that 
Commonwealth 275 

BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN. 

PORTRAIT. 

Master  of  the  first  warranted  Lodge  in  Pennsylvania,  and  Provin 

cial  Grand  Master  of  that  Province 281 

WILLIAM  FRANKLIN. 

PORTRAIT. 

The  last  of  the  Royal  Governors  of  New  Jersey,  and  Grand  Secre- 
tary of  the  Provincial  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania 300 

GENERAL  DAVID  WOOSTER. 

PORTRAIT. 

An  officer  of  the  Revolution,  and  Master  of  the  first  Lodge  in 
Connecticut 312 

PIERPONT  EDWARDS, 
The  first  Grand  Master  of  Connecticut 318 

JABEZ  BO  WEN,  LL.  D., 

Lieutenant-Governor   of  Rhode  Island,  and  Grand  Master   of 
Masons  in  that  State 321 

COLONEL  WILLIAM  BARTON. 

PORTRAIT. 

The  Rhode  Island  Mason  who  captured  the  British  General 
Prescott 324 

JOHN  SULLIVAN. 

PORTRAIT. 

Major-General  of  the  Revolution,  and  first  Grand  Master  of  New 
Hampshire 329 


CONTENTS.  11 

GENERAL  JAMES  JACKSON. 

PORTRAIT. 

Governor  and  Grand  Master  of  Georgia 340 

WILLIAM  RICHARDSON  DAVIE. 

PORTRAIT. 

Governor  of  North  Carolina,  and  Grand  Master  of  that  State  ....  345 

RICHARD  CASWELL, 
Governor  of  North  Carolina,  and  Grand  Master  of  that  State. . . .  350 

DR.  JAMES  MILNOR. 

PORTRAIT. 

Grand  Master  of  Pennsylvania 359 

DR.  SAMUEL  SEABURY. 

PORTRAIT. 

The  first  Episcopal  Bishop  in  America 868 


GENERAL  RUFUS  PUTNAM. 

PORTRAIT. 

First  Grand  Master  of  Ohio 375 

AARON  OGDEN. 

PORTRAIT. 

Governor  of  New  Jersey 885 

GENERAL  MORDECAI  GIST. 

PORTRAIT. 

An  officer  of  the  American  Revolution,  and  Grand  Master  of 
South  Carolina..  390 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Frontispiece.    Masonic  Portrait  of  Washington.     Steel 

Seal  of  Fredericksburg  Lodge 24 

Washington's  Masonic  Cave 33 

Seal  of  American  Union  Lodge 44 

Washington  Masonic  Medal,  1797 70 

Arms  of  the  Freemasons 71 

Washington's  Coat  of  Arms 72 

Washington's  Masonic  Apron,  presented  by  Lafayette 105 

Bible  on  which  Washington  took  the  oath  of  office  as  President . .  125 

Miniature  Likeness  of  Washington,  by  Leney 126 

Facsimile  Letter  of  Washington  to  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania  164 
Masonic  Procession  at  laying  the  Corner-stone  of  the  Capitol  at 

Washington,  1793 171 

Masonic  Funeral  Ceremonies  of  Washington 202 

Portrait  and  Autograph  of  Major  Henry  Price 233 

Portrait  and  Autograph  of  Sir  William  Johnson 245 

Portrait  of  Peyton  Randolph 260 

Portrait  and  Autograph  of  Benjamin  Franklin 281 

Portrait  and  Autograph  of  William  Franklin 300 

Portrait  of  David  Wooster 31& 

Portrait  and  Autograph  of  Colonel  William  Barton 324 

Portrait  and  Autograph  of  General  John  Sullivan 329 

Portrait  and  Autograph  of  General  James  Jackson 340 

Portrait  and  Autograph  of  William  Richardson  Davie 345 

Portrait  and  Autograph  of  Rev.  Dr.  James  Milnor 360 

Portrait  and  Autograph  of  Dr.  Samuel  Seabury 368 

Portrait  and  Autograph  of  General  Ruras  Putnam 375 

Portrait  and  Autograph  of  Aaron  Ogden 385 

Portrait  and  Autograph  of  General  Mordecai  Gist *.  890 


PART  I. 


WASHINGTON. 


WASHINGTON. 


OHAPTEE  I. 

, .  ^ ;GTON'S  birth  contemporaneous  with  introduction  of  Warranted  Lougo» 

in  America. — Date  of  his  birth  from  family  record. — Emigration  of  his 
ancestors  to  America. — Death  of  his  father. — His  boyhood. — Paternal  in- 
struction.— Anecdote  of  his  love  of  truth. — Faithfulness  of  his  mother. — 
His  early  education. — His  influence  with  his  youthful  associates. — Excels 
in  athletic  exercises. — His  brother  LAWRENCE  an  officer  under  Admiral 
VERNON. — Receives  a  commission  as  midshipman  in  the  British  navy. — 
Relinquishes  it  at  the  wish  of  his  mother. — Engages  as  a  land  surveyor. — 
His  commission  as  such. — An  old  log-hut  in  Clarke  County. — Surveys  for 
Lord  FAIRFAX. — Illness  of  his  brother. — WASHINGTON  accompanies  him  to 
Barbadoes. — His  death  and  will. — WASHINGTON  becomes  possessed  of 
Mount  Vernon.— Is  appointed  adjutant-general  of  Virginia  militia. — Ap- 
pearance and  general  character  when  he  came  to  manhood.— A  candidate 
for  Masonry. 

)IJE  introduction  of  Freemasonry  into 
America,  and  the  birth  of  WASHINGTON, 
had  nearly  a  contemporaneous  date.  The 
annals  of  the  fraternity  give  no  account 
of  regularly  organized  lodges  in  this 
country  until  the  third  decade  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, and  in  its  second  year  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  was 
born.  For  the  record  of  his  natal  day,  we  are  indebted 
to  no  heraldric  college,  no  public  register,  but  the  old 
family  Bible  of  his  ancestors  is  still  preserved,  where, 


10  WASHINGTON. 

in  the  handwriting  of  his  mother,  as  is  supposed,  the 
following  record  is  found  : 

"  GEORGE  WASHINGTON,  son  to  AUGUSTINE,  and  MARY, 
his  wife,  was  born  ye  llth  day  of  February,  173£,  about 
10  in  the  morning,  and  was  baptized  the  3d  of  April  fol- 
lowing. Mr.  BEVERLY  WHITING  and  Capt.  CHRISTOPHER 
BROOKS,  godfathers,  and  Mrs.  MILDRED  GREGORY,  god- 
mother." 

This  date  is  according  to  the  old  style  calendar  then 
in  use,  and  is  equivalent  to  the  22d  of  February,  1732, 
new  style. 

The  ancestors  of  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  emigrated  to 
America  from  the  north  of  England  during  the  protec- 
torate of  OLIVER  CROMWELL.  His  great-grandfather, 
JOHN  WASHINGTON,  is  said  to  have  inherited  the  blood 
of  English  nobility,  both  by  paternal  and  maternal 
descent.  He  came  to  America  and  settled  on  the  bor- 
ders of  the  Potomac,  Westmoreland  County,  Virginia, 
in  1657.  From  JOHN,  first  in  the  line  of  descent  was 
LAWRENCE  ;  second,  AUGUSTINE  ;  and  third,  GEORGE 
WASHINGTON,  who  was  the  third  child  of  AUGUSTINE,  and 
the  first  by  his  second  marriage.  His  mother  was  a 
daughter  of  Colonel  BALL,  of  Virginia.  * 

His  father  removed,  while  he  was  a  child,  to  the 
banks  of  the  Bappahannock,  opposite  Fredericksburg, 
and  died  there  when  GEORGE  was  but  eleven  years  old. 
We  know  but  little  of  the  paternal  instruction  he  re 
ceived  in  his  boyhood,  for  his  early  orphanage,  and  the 
sparseness  of  detail  relating  to  the  domestic  history  of 
the  yeomanry  of  Virginia  at  that  period,  leaves  a  blank 
in  his  youthful  history,  which  his  future  greatness 
makes  us  wish  were  filled  with  all  such  incidents  as 


WASHINGTON.  17 

became  the  germs  of  future  character.  It  is  said,  how- 
ever, by  one  of  his  early  biographers,  that  his  father 
instilled  into  his  mind  a  noble  and  generous  disposi- 
tion ;  taught  him  to  be  kind  and  amiable  to  his  play- 
mates, and  liberal  in  sharing  with  them  any  presents 
of  fruits  or  cakes  he  might  receive  ;  telling  him  at  the 
same  time,  that  the  great  and  good  GOD  delights  above 
all  things  to  see  children  love  one  another,  and  that 
He  will  assuredly  reward  all  who  act  an  amiable  part. 

The  story  of  the  cherry-tree  and  the  hatchet  has 
been  often  told,  but  the  moral  heroism  of  the  tale  is 
so  characteristic  of  the  man  in  after-life,  and  has  so 
often  swelled  the  breasts  of  youthful  listeners  to  whom 
it  has  been  related,  with  resolutions  to  bravely  tell  the 
truth  under  all  circumstances,  that  we  again  repeat  it, 
to  inculcate  that  noblest  masonic  virtue,  the  love  of 
truth. 

"When  GEOKGE  was  about  six  years  old,  he  was 
made  the  wealthy  master  of  a  hatchet,  of  which,  like 
most  boys,  he  was  immoderately  fond,  and  was  con- 
stantly going  about  chopping  every  thing  that  came 
in  his  way.  One  day,  in  the  garden,  where  he  often 
amused  himself  hacking  his  mother's  pea-bushes,  he 
unluckily  tried  the  edge  of  his  hatchet  on  the  body  of 
a  beautiful  young  English  cherry-tree,  which  he  barked 
so  terribly,  that  the  tree  -never  got  the  better  of  it. 
The  next  morning,  the  old  gentleman  finding  out  what 
had  befallen  his  tree,  which,  by  the  by,  was  a  great 
favorite,  came  into  the  house,  and  with  much  warmth, 
asked  for  the  mischievous  author,  declaring  at  the  same 
time  that  he  would  not  have  taken  five  guineas  for  the 
tree.  Nobody  could  tell  him  any  thing  about  it. 


18  WASHINGTON. 

Presently  GEORGE  and  his  hatchet  made  their  appear- 
ance. 'GEORGE,'  said  his  father,  'do  you  know  who 
killed  that  beautiful  little  cherry-tree  yonder  in  the  garden  ?' 
This  was  a  tough  question,  and  GEORGE  staggered  under 
it  for  a  moment;  but  quickly  recovered  himself,  and 
looking  at  his  father,  the  sweet  face  of  youth  bright- 
ened with  the  inexpressible  charm  of  all-conquering 
truth,  and  he  bravely  cried  out,  '  /  can't  tell  a  lie,  Pa ; 
you  know  I  cant  tell  a  lie.  I  cut  it  with  my  hatchet!' 
'  Run  to  my  arms,  you  dearest  boy,'  cried  his  father  in 
transports — '  run  to  my  arms  !  Glad  am  I,  GEORGE,  that 
you  killed  -my  tree,  for  you  have  paid  me  for  it  a 
thousand  times.  Such  an  act  of  heroism  in  my  son,  is 
worth  more  than  a  thousand  trees,  though  blossomed 
with  silver,  and  their  fruits  of  purest  gold.' 3: 

To  WASHINGTON'S  mother  has  been  also  accorded, 
and  is  no  doubt  due,  the  credit  of  so  directing  the 
mental,  moral,  and  religious  character  of  his  youth,  as 
to  give  an  exalted  tone  to  every  action  of  his  after-life. 
Left,  by  her  husband's  death,  with  the  weighty  care  of 
five  children,  she  took  upon  herself  the  superintendence 
of  their  education,  and  the  management  of  the  compli- 
cated affairs  of  their  estates,  and  so  acquitted  herself 
as  to  gain  the  proud  satisfaction  of  seeing  them  all 
come  forward  into  active  life  with  fair  prospects,  and 

her  first-born  become  the  most  beloved  and  exalted  of 

>• 

American  citizens.  Though  inheriting  the  name,  the 
patrimony,  and  noble  virtues  of  his  father,  history  has 
paid  its  tribute  to  the  faithfulness  of  his  mother,  by 
writing  him  a  ividow's  son. 

The  schools  of  the  colonies  did  not  afford  at  that 
time  great  advantages  for  education,  and  WASHINGTON'S 


WASHINGTON.  19 

attainments  were  comprised  within  a  knowledge  of 
reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic  at  first ;  but  he  after- 
wards studied  surveying,  geography,  and  history,  in 
the  first  of  which  he  became  proficient.  In  such  pur- 
suits his  early  years  were  spent.  Even  during  his 
boyhood  he  is  said  to  have  manifested  a  military  taste, 
and  to  have  exerted  a  commanding  influence  over  his 
youthful  associates,  in  all  their  amusements ;  and  the 
well-remembered  story  of  his  casting  a  stone  across  the 
Rappahannock,  a  feat  said  never  to  have  been  accom- 
plished by  another,  is  proof  that  he  excelled  in  athletic 
exercises.  It  was  such  scenes  that  afterwards  fitted 
him  to  encounter  perils,  and  take  pleasure  in  adven- 
tures that  needed  strength  of  body,  perseverance,  and 
confidence  in  his  own  powers  to  insure  success. 

WASHINGTON'S  eldest  brother,  LAWRENCE,  was  an  offi- 
cer in  the  colonial  troops,  sent  under  Admiral  YERNON, 
in  the  expedition  against  Carthagena,  in  South  Amer- 
ica ;  and  through  his  influence,  and  in  accordance 
with  his  own  wishes,  a  commission  as  midshipman  in 
a  British  ship  of  war,  stationed  off  the  coast  of  Yir- 
ginia,  was  procured  for  him,  when  he  was  fifteen  years 
of  age ;  but  in  obedience  to  the  wishes  of  his  mother, 
he  was  induced  to  relinquish  this  commission,  which 
his  own  desires  and  those  of  his  brother  made  him 
anxious  to  retain.  He  engaged  soon  after  as  a  land 
surveyor,  and  made  such  proficiency,  that  he  soon 
became  skilful  in  that  profession.  The  records  of 
Culpepper  County  state  that  on  the  20th  of  July,  1749 
(o.  s.),  "  GEORGE  WASHINGTON,  Gent.,  produced  a  com- 
mission from  the  President  and  Master  of  William  and 
Mary  College,  appointing  him  to  be  surveyor  of  this 


20  WASHINGTON. 

county;  which  was  read,  and  thereupon  he  took  the 
usual  oaths  to  his  majesty's  person  and  government, 
and  took  and  subscribed  the  abjuration  oath  and  test, 
and  then  took  the  oath  of  surveyor  according  to  law." 

His  employments  as  surveyor  often  called  him  into 
distant  parts  of  the  colony ;  and  there  was  standing  a 
few  years  ago,  in  Clarke  County,  an  old  log-hut, 
which  well  authenticated  tradition  states  was  occupied 
by  him  while  surveying  lands  there  for  Lord  FAIRFAX. 
It  was  about  twelve  feet  square,  and  was  divided  into 
an  upper  and  a  lower  room,  the  upper  one  of  which 
was  used  to  deposit  his  instruments.  It  was  at  least 
an  interesting  memorial  of  his  humble  life,  before  his 
merits  called  him  to  a  more  public  sphere  of  action. 

WASHINGTON  was  engaged  as  a  surveyor  for  Lord 
FAIRFAX  nearly  three  years,  during  which  the  open 
seasons  were  spent  among  the  rich,  uncultivated  val- 
leys and  wild  mountains  of  Virginia,  and  the  winters 
with  his  mother  at  Fredericksburg,  and  his  brother 
LAWRENCE  at  Mount  Yernon.  During  the  last  year 
his  brother  becoming  an  invalid,  went  to  the  Bar- 
badoes  for  his  health,  and  WASHINGTON  accompanied 
him.  He  returned  in  the  spring  of  1751,  and  soon  after 
died,  leaving  his  estate  at  Mount  Yernon  to  his  infant 
daughter,  with  a  provision  in  his  will,  that  if  she  died 
without  issue,  it  should  go  to  his  brother  GEORGE.  She 
did  so  die  in  .1752,  and  WASHINGTON  came  into  posses- 
sion of  the  spot,  whose  fame  has  since  become  im- 
mortal,— not  from  its  bearing  the  name  of  an  English 
noble,  but  from  its  having  been  the  cherished  home 
and  final  resting-place  of  the  greatest  American  cit- 
izen. WASHINGTON  then  was  nineteen  years  of  age, 


WASHINGTON.  21 

and  held  the  position  of  adjutant-general  in  the  Vir- 
ginia militia,  with  the  rank  of  major.  He  was  said  by 
his  contemporaries  at  this  period  of  his  life  to  be  grave, 
silent,  and  thoughtful,  diligent  and  methodical  in  busi- 
ness, dignified  in  his  appearance,  strictly  honorable  in 
all  his  actions,  and  a  stranger  to  dissipation  and  riot. 
Such  was  his  early  history  and  character  when,  in 
1752,  in  the  twenty-first  year  of  his  age,  he  offered 
himself  to  Fredericksburg  Lodge  as  a  candidate  for 
the  mysteries  of  Masonry. 


OHAPTEE   II. 

First  introJi.ctbn  of  Warranted  Lodges  in  America.— First  in  Boston. — Phil- 
adelphia.— Charleston. — Origin  of  lodge  in  Fredericksburg. — Its  officers 
in  1752. — WASHINGTON'S  initiation. — Passing. — Raising. — The  Bible  and 
seal  of  Fredericksburg  Lodge. — Brevity  of  early  Masonic  record*. — WASH- 
INGTON but  twenty  years  old  when  initiated. — Time  intervening  between 
that  and  further  degrees. — Sent  by  the  governor  of  Virginia  with  message 
to  French  commander  on  Ohio. — Incidents  of  his  journey. — His  Indian 
name. — Commencement  of  French  and  Indian  War. — WASHINGTON  placed 
in  command  of  Virginia  forces. — His  capitulation  nt  Fort  Necessity. — 
Joins  General  BRADDOCK'S  expedition. — Performs  the  burial-service  of 
that  officer. — Unjust  distinction  towards  colonial  officers. — WASHINGTON 
visits  Boston  on  the  subject. — Becomes  enamored  with  Miss  PUILLIPSE. — 
Again  takes  command  of  the  Virginia  forces. — Participates  in  the  capture 
of  Duquesne. — Ketires  from  military  service. — Claims  of  some  that  he  was 
made  a  Mason  in  a  British  military  lodge  without  foundation. — Lodges 
held  under  different  authorities  at  this  time  in  America. — Lodge  of  Fred- 
ericksburg takes  a  new  warrant  from  Scotland. — Washington  Masonic 
Cave. — Elected  member  of  House  of  Burgesses. — His  first  appearance  in 
the  assembly.— His  marriage. — His  domestic  life  previous  to  the  Revo- 
lution.— Want  of  Masonic  records  in  Virginia  of  this  period. 

[AEEANTED  Lodges  had  not  been  in  ex- 
istence in  America  twenty  years,  when 
"WASHINGTON  came  to  manhood;  for  we 
have  no  record  of  a  regular  lodge  in  this 
country  held  under  authority  of  any  rec- 
ognized Grand  Lodge  previous  to  his  birth.  The 
first  regular  lodge,  whose  records  exist,  was  estab- 
lished in  Boston,  in  1733,  by  HENRY  PRICE,  by  virtue 


WASHINGTON".  23 

of  a  deputation  from  the  Grand  Master  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  England,  appointing  him  Provincial  Grand 
Master  of  New  England.  In  the  following  year,  under 
an  extension  of  his  authority  over  all  America,  regular 
warrants  were  granted  to  lodges  not  only  in  New 
England,  but  in  Philadelphia  and  Charleston,  S.  C. ;  so 
that  while  WASHINGTON  was  yet  in  his  swaddling-clothes, 
the  star  of  American  Masonry,  which  arose  in  the  East 
about  the  period  of  his  birth,  may  be  said  to  have 
rested  over  the  place  where  the  young  child  was. 

Before  WASHINGTON  came  to  manhood,  a  lodge  had 
been  organized  in  Fredericksburg,  under  authority 
from  THOMAS  OXNARD,  Provincial  Grand  Master  at 
Boston,  whose  authority  also  extended  over  all  the 
English  colonies  in  America ;  and  in  1752,  when 
WASHINGTON  sought  admission  in  this  lodge,  its  offi- 
cers were,  DANIEL  CAMPBELL,  Master;  JOHN  NEILSON, 
Senior  Warden;  and  Dr.  EGBERT  HALKERSON,  Junior 
Warden.  The  records  of  the  few  Masonic  Lodges  in 
America  at  that  period  are  very  concise,  being  limited 
in  their  details  mostly  to  the  election  of  officers,  and 
the  initiating,  passing,  and  raising  of  members. 

The  records  of  Fredericksburg  Lodge  show  the  pres- 
ence of  WASHINGTON,  for  the  first  time  in  the  lodge, 
on  the  fourth  of  November,  5752,  leaving  no  doubt 
that  he  was  initiated  on  that  day,  as  on  the  6th  of 
November,  the  record  continues,  "Received  of  Mr. 
GEORGE  WASHINGTON  for  his  entrance  .£2:3." 

"  March  3d,  5753 — GEORGE  WASHINGTON  passed  Fel- 
low Craft." 

"August  4th,  5753— GEORGE  WASHINGTON  raised 
Master  Mason." 


SEAL  OF  FREDERICKSBURCH  LODGE. 


24  WASHINGTON. 

The  old  record-book  of  the  lodge  is  still  preserved ; 
also  the  Bible  on  which  he  was  obligated,  and  the  seal 
of  the  lodge.  The  Bible  is  a  small 
quarto  volume,  and  bears  date, 
"  Cambridge,  printed  by  John 
Field,  printer  to  the  University, 
1688."  The  seal  is  beautifully  en- 
graved, having  for  its  principal 
device  a  shield  crested  with  a  cas- 
tle, with  castles  also  on  each  of 
its  points,  with  compasses  in  its 
centre.  Below  the  shield  is  the  motto,  "  IN  THE  LORD 
is  ALL  OUR  TRUST" — the  whole  surrounded  with  "  FRED- 
ERICKSBURGH  LODGE,"  in  a  circle. 

Had  the  lodge  at  Fredericksburg  known  how  deep 
an  interest  would  be  felt  by  succeeding  generations 
in  all  that  pertained  to  WASHINGTON,  his  Masonic 
record,  even  at  that  period,  would  probably  have  been 
made  with  more  fulness  of  detail;  and  yet  its  very 
concisenesses  confirmatory  proof,  if  such  were  needed, 
of  the  verity  of  the  facts  there  recorded.  The  lessons 
of  history  are  progressive,  and  none  could  have  known, 
as  he  passed  through  the  mystic  rites  of  Masonry  in 
1752,  in  presence  of  that  chosen  band  of  brethren  in 
Fredericksburg  Lodge,  that  the  new-made  brother 
then  before  them  would  win,  in  after-years,  a  nation's 
honor,  gratitude,  and  love ;  and  that  when  a  century 
had  passed,  the  anniversary  of  his  initiation  would 
be  celebrated  as  a  national  Masonic  jubilee. 

WASHINGTON  was  initiated  into  Masonry  a  few 
months  before  he  was  twenty-one  years  of  age.  The 
lawful  age  «at  which  a  candidate  may  receive  the 


WASHINGTON.  25 

mysteries  is  strictly  conventional;  while  the  principle 
upon  vrhich  the  requirement  was  founded  is  a  land- 
mark in  Masonry.  Different  nations  have  established 
different  periods  during  which  the  child  shall  remain 
under  the  pupilage  and  government  of  its  parents. 
Masonry  supposes  each  candidate  admitted  to  her 
mysteries  to  have  the  absolute  legal  control  of  his  own 
actions,  and  that  the  obligations  he  assumes  are  such 
as  he  can  comply  with  without  interference.  For  this 
reason  clone,  a  slave,  a  prisoner,  and  common  soldier 
in  the  cirmy  in  some  countries,  are  under  legal  re- 
straints that  disqualify  them  for  being  candidates  for 
the  mysteries  of  Masonry. 

The  custom  of  French  lodges  in  admitting  the  sons 
of  Masons  at  the  age  of  eighteen  years  as  candidates 
for  Masonry,  is  based  upon  the  supposition  that  the 
obligations  they  assume  at  that  age  (they  being  first 
approved  of  as  discreet)  they  will  fully  comply  with 
011  account  of  the  relation  which  the  father  bears  to 
the  lodge. 

In  WASHINGTON'S  admission  to  the  fraternity  a  few 
months  before  he  became  twenty-one  years  of  age,  if 
the  conventional  rule  in  this  country  and  in  other 
English  lodges  as  then  existing  was  not  fully  complied 
with,  no  Masonic  principle  was  thereby  violated. 
Without  claiming  for  him  a  precocious  manhood,  we 
may  safely  assume  from  his  early  history,  that  at  the 
age  of  twenty  years,  his  physical,  mental,  and  moral 
developments  fitted  him,  not  only  for  those  active 
duties  of  citizenship  which  he  had  assumed  under  the 
civil  laws  of  Virginia,  but  also  as  master  of  his  own  ac- 
tions, for  forming  relations  with  a  brotherhood  that 

2 


26  WASHINGTON. 

requires  for  the  admission  of  its  candidates,  their  fiee, 
voluntary,  and  unrestrained  devotion  to  its  duties. 

Four  months  intervened,  as  the  records  show,  after 
he  was  initiated  before  he  became  a  Fellow  Craft  Ma- 
son ;  and  still  four  more,  before  he  became  a  Master 
Mason.  He  was  soon  after  employed  in  important 
public  duties  by  the  governor  of  Virginia.  Political 
considerations  then  required  that  a  messenger  should 
be  sent  to  some  French  military  posts  on  the  Ohio,  to 
demand,  in  the  name  of  the  governor  of  Virginia,  who 
was  the  British  king's  representative  in  the  territory 
of  which  the  French  had  taken  possession,  that  they 
should  at  once  depart  and  cease  to  intrude  on  the 
claimed  English  domain.  It  was  late  in  autumn  be- 
fore such  a  commission  was  determined  on  by  the 
governor,  and  the  difficulties  incident  to  the  season, 
and  the  hazard  of  encountering,  not  only  French,  but 
Indian  hostilities,  were  sufficient  to  try  the  fortitude  of 
the  boldest  adventurer.  WASHINGTON  was  solicited  by 
the  governor  to  undertake  the  commission.  His  reply 
was,  "For  my  own  part,  I  can  answer  that  I  have  a  con- 
stitution hardy  enough  to  encounter  and  undergo  the 
most  severe  toils,  and,  I  flatter  myself,  resolution  to  face 
what  any  man  dares."  Nobly  spoken!  And  yet  it 
was  but  the  reflection  of  a  Masonic  lesson  he  had 
learned  on  his  admission  into  Masonry  but  one  year 
before.  What  lesson  learned  in  Masonry  was  ever  by 
him  forgotten  or  unheeded? 

He  left  Williarnsburg  on  the  30th  of  November, 
1753,  taking  with  him,  on  his  way,  a  guide  and  a  half- 
dozen  backwoodsmen,  and  traversing  a  country  little 
known,  held  conferences  with  Indian  war-chiefs,  and 


WASHINGTON.  27 

the  French  commandant,  and  returned  after  months  of 
hardships  and  dangers,  and  made  his  report  to  the 
governor.  History  has  told  how,  in  this  adventure,  he 
encountered  hunger,  and  cold,  and  weariness,  how  the 
French  officer  evaded  a  compliance  with  his  demands, 
and  how  the  wily  Indian  lurked  around  his  path. 
History  has  told  all  this,  and  we  need  not  repeat  it 
here.  His  report  and  daily  journal  during  this  first 
public  service  were  published  soon  after,  both  in  this 
country  and  in  Europe ;  and  his  prudence  and  his  di- 
plomacy met  with  general  approbation.  The  Indians, 
during  this  interview  with  them,  gave  him  the  name  oi 
CANOTOCAKIUS. 

The  refusal  of  the  French  to  evacuate  the  posts  on 
the  Ohio,  was  followed  by  the  contest  which  is  known 
in  history  as  the  French  and  Indian  War.  Although 
no  formal  declaration  of  war  was  made  between  France 
and  England  until  May,  175G,  yet  in  1754  hostilities 
commenced  on  the  Anglo-American  frontiers,  and 
WASHINGTON  was  offered  by  the  governor  of  Virginia 
the  first  command  of  troops  raised  in  that  colony  for 
its  defence.  He  declined  the  honor,  as  a  charge  too 
great  for  his  youth  and  inexperience,  but  took  rank 
second  in  command,  as  lieutenant-colonel.  The  death 
of  his  superior  officer,  Colonel  FEY,  however,  soon 
placed  him  at  the  head  of  the  Virginia  troops ;  and  his 
first  lessons  in  active  military  life  were  in  the  school  of 
experience,  where  he  had  few  to  counsel,  none  to  direct 
him.  His  campaign  was  a  short  one,  ending  early  in 
July  by  his  capitulation  to  the  French  commander  at 
Fort  Necessity.  It  was  the  only  time  in  his  life  in 
which  he  ever  struck  his  flag  to  the  foe. 


"2S  WASHINGTON. 

In  the  following  year,  WASHINGTON  joined  General 
BRADDQCK  as  a  voluntary  aid  in  his  unfortunate  expedi- 
tion against  Fort  Duquesne.  History  has  told  of  the 
hardships  and  dangers  of  that  campaign, — how,  when 
BRADDOCK  fell  upon  the  battle-field,  and  most  of  his 
officers  were  wounded  or  slain,  WASHINGTON  skilfully 
conducted  the  little  remnant  of  the  army  that  remained 
from  the  fatal  spot ;  and  when  his  commander's  grave 
was  made,  that  he  piously  read  by  torchlight  the 
prayers  of  the  Church  at  his  midnight  burial. 

From  this  time  onward,  WASHINGTON  was  the  first 
colonial  officer  in  Virginia  during  this  war.  He  was, 
however,  subordinate  to  officers  of  lower  rank  who  held 
British  commissions,  his  being  only  from  the  colonial 
government  of  Virginia.  This  unjust  distinction  was 
very  distasteful  to  him,  and  in  the  winter  of  1756  he 
•d  Boston,  to  consult  on  this  point  with  General 
SHIRLEY,  who  had  been  sent  by  the  British  government 
as  the  successor  of  BRADDOCK.  He  made  his  journey 
on  horseback,  and  stopped  some  time  in  Philadelphia 
and  New  York.  History  has  woven  into  its  pages 
traditions  of  his  becoming  enamored  while  in  New 
York  with  a  Miss  MARY  PHILLIPSE,  the  sister  of  the  wife 
of  his  host,  Colonel  BEVERLY  KOBINSON.  .  She  is  de- 
scribed as  a  lady  of  rare  beauty  and  accomplishments, 
and  it  is  said  that  WASHINGTON  was  so  deeply  interested 
in  her  charms,  that  when  his  military  duties  called  him 
to  Virginia,  he  intrusted  the  secret  of  his  heart  to  a 
friend,  who  promised  to  keep  him  advised  as  to  the 
prospect  of  any  rival  supplanting  him  in  her  esteem. 
His  fears  seem  to  have  become  a  reality,  for  she  soon 
after  married  Colonel  MORRIS,  who  had  been  an  asso- 


WASHINGTON.  20 

ciate  with  "WASHINGTON  in  BEADDOCK'S  army.  Her 
husband  and  her  family  afterwards  adhered  to  the 
British  interests  during  the  Revolution,  and  were  all 
proscribed  as  traitors,  and  their  property  confiscated. 
It  is  said  that  many  years  later,  when  deprived  of  her 
extensive  estates  on  the  Hudson,  an  exile  from  her 
early  home,  a  remark  was  made  to  one  of  her  family, 
of  the  difference  to  her,  between  being  the  wife  of  an 
exile  or  of  the  hero  of  the  Revolution  and  chief  magis- 
trate of  his  country ;  to  which  the  reply  was  naively 
given,  that  ""WASHINGTON  would  not,  could  not,  have 
been  a  traitor  with  such  a  wife  as  Aunty  MORRIS." 
With  strong  faith  in  woman's  charms,  we  must  still  bo 
permitted  to  doubt  whether  we  owe  to  cupid's  frowns 
the  patriotism  of  WASHINGTON.  Tradition  has  told,  too, 
of  an  earlier  charmer,  a  "  lowland  beauty"  of  Virginia, 
who  had  won  the  admiration  of  WASHINGTON  in  the 
days  of  his  boyhood.  It  has  been  said  that  he  then 
wrote  sentimental  verses  to  soothe  his  passion;  and 
that  in  after-years,  a  son  of  this  first  flower  that  capti- 
vated his  youthful  heart  became  a  favorite  of  his,  in 
the  person  oL General  HENRY  LEE. 

Although  the  ostensible  object  of  the  war  was  the 
defence  and  occupancy  of  the  territories  on  the  Ohio, 
yet  its  chief  aim  and  final  result  was  to  overthrow  all 
French  power  in  America.  For  this  purpose,  numer- 
ous independent  expeditions  were  planned  and  ex- 
ecuted by  the  various  commanders  against  different 
and  widely  distant  French  posts,  from  Nova  Scotia  to 
the  Ohio.  WASHINGTON  was  connected  with  none  of 
these,  except  such  as  protected  the  western  border  of 
Virginia,  or  were  directed  against  Fort  Duquesne.  The 


30  WASHINGTON. 

capture  of  this  post  was  his  darling  wish.  In  this  he 
participated  in  November  of  1758,  and  having  secured 
its  possession,  he  repaired  with  his  troops  to  the  spot 
where,  three  years  before,  so  many  of  their  friends  and 
brethren  had  been  slaughtered  on  BRADDOCK'S  ill-fated 
field,  and  gathering  their  whitened  bones,  buried  them 
with  funeral  honors.  It  was  a  sad  and  solemn  duty, 
and  that  burial-mound  was  watered  with  the  tears  of 
fathers,  brothers,  and  sons.  It  was  the  scene  in  Koman 
history  repeated,  where  the  soldiers  of  GERMANICUS 
gathered  up  the  bones  of  VARUS  and  his  legions,  that 
had  lain  in  the  forests  for  six  years  unbufied,  and  paid 
the  last  offices  of  tenderness  to  their  fallen  country- 
men. WASHINGTON  now  retired  honorably  from  the 
army,  and  became  a  private  citizen  at  Mount  Yernon. 

He  had  then  been  for  six  years  a  Mason,  and  the 
last  five  had  been  spent  in  military  campaigns.  His 
attendance  on  the  meetings  of  his  .own  lodge  during 
this  period  could  not  have  been  frequent,  and  no  local 
lodge  existed  nearer  Mount  Vernon.  Our  English 
biethren  have  claimed  that  WASHINGTON  was  made  a 
Mason  during  the  old  French  "War,  in  a  British  military 
lodge,  holding  a  warrant  from  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Ireland,  granted  in  1752.  This  lodge,  called  "The 
Lodge  of  Social  and  Military  Virtues,"  was  No.  227  on 
the  registry  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Ireland,  and  was 
held  in  the  forty-sixth  British  regiment.  It  still  ex- 
ists, we  believe,  as  "Lodge  of  Antiquity"  in  Canada, 
and  claims  to  have  the  Bible  in  its  possession  on 
which  WASHINGTON  was  obligated  as  a  Mason. 

If  WASHINGTON  ever  held  any  Masonic  intercourse 
with  that  lodge,  we  believe  it  must  have  been  during 


WASHINGTON.  31 

his  visit  to  Philadelphia,  New  York,  and  Boston,  in 
the  winter  of  1756.  Previous  to  that  time,  only  two 
British  regiments  were  connected  with  the  American 
service,  and  these  were  the  forty-fourth  and  forty- 
eighth,  which  came  over  the  year  before  with  General 
BEADDOCK  ;  but  we  know  of  no  military,  lodge-warrant 
being  held  by  either  of  these  regiments.  The  forty- 
sixth  regiment  was  sent  to  America  soon  after  BEAD- 
DOCK'S  defeat,  and  it  served  in  the  northern  campaigns, 
and  not  in  Virginia,  where  WASHINGTON  held  command. 
If  WASHINGTON,  therefore,  had  any  connection  with 
the  lodge  above  alluded'  to,  it  must  have  been  during 
his  northern  visit ;  and  as  he  had  been  made  a  Mason, 
and  received  his  first  three  degrees  more  than  three 
years  previous  to  that  time,  in  an  American  lodge  at 
Fredericksburg,  held  under  authority  from  the  Provin- 
cial Grand  Master  of  Massachusetts,  if  he  was  obli- 
gated on  the  Bible  .of  this  British  Military  Lodge,  it 
must  have  been  an  obligation  given  as  a  test  oath 
to  him.  as  a  visiting  brother ;  or  this  lodge  may  have 
deemed  the  authority  under  which  he  had  been  made 
as  insufficient,  and  have  required  him  to  be  healed  and 
re-obligated,  to  entitle  him  to  the  privilege  of  Masonic 
intercourse  with  a  lodge  held  under  a  warrant  from 
the  Grand  Lodge  of  Ireland. 

All  warranted  American  lodges,  previous  to  the 
French  War,  had  worked  the  rituals  and  acknowledged 
the  authority  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  England  only 
(sometimes  denominated  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Mod- 
erns); but  during  this  war,  lodges  holding  warrants 
from  the  Grand  Lodges  of  Scotland,  Ireland,  and  the 
Ancients  of  London,  were  working  in  America.  The} 


32  WASHINGTON. 

probably  owed  their  introduction  to  the  military 
brethren.  It  is  well  known  that  little  or  no  inter- 
course was  held  between  these  lodges  and  those 
working  under  the  authority  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
England ;  and  it  is  a  significant  fact,  that  in  1758 
WASHINGTON'S  own  lodge  in  Fredericksburg  relin- 
quished its  authority  from  the  Provincial  Grand 
Master  of  Massachusetts,  and  obtained  a  warrant  from 
Scotland.  These,  and  many  other  considerations,  ren- 
der it  not  improbable  that  WASHINGTON  may,  during 
his  visit  to  the  North  in  1756,  have  met  with  this 
British  Military  Lodge,  and  in  it,  been  re-made,  or 
healed,  and  re-obligated,  as  was  the  custom  of  that 
day  in  admitting  to  Masonic  intercourse  Masons  made 
under  authority  of  Masonic  bodies  whose  government 
and  rituals  varied  from  their  own. 

Traditions,  which  no  Masonic  records  of  that  period 
now  existing  either  verify  or  contradict,  state  that 
WASHINGTON  and  his  Masonic  brethren  held  military 
lodges  during  the  old  French  War ;  and  there  is  a  cave 
near  Charlestown  in  Virginia,  a  few  miles  from  Win- 
chester, where  his  headquarters  for  two  years  were 
held,  which  to  this  day  is  called  "  Washington's  Masonic 
Cave."  It  is  divided  into  several  apartments,  one  of 
which  is  called  "  The  Lodge  Room"  Tradition  says 
that  WASHINGTON  and  his  Masonic  brethren  held  lodges 
in  this  cavern.  In  the  spring  of  1844  the  Masons  of 
that  vicinity  held  a  celebration  there  to  commemorate 
the  event. 

WASHINGTON'S  military  services  had  not  only  gained 
the  approbation  of  his  countrymen,  but  had  met  with 
the  applause  of  English  officers  in  the  army,  so  that 


WASHINGTON. 


33 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  CAVE. 

when  lie  left  the  command  of  the  Virginia  provincuJ.3, 
he  was  the  most  popular  American  officer  in  the  west- 
ern military  department.  But  in  resigning  his  military 
command,  he  did  not  retire  from  the  service  of  his 
native  colony ;  for  in  1758,  while  holding  his  commis- 
sion as  colonel,  he  was  elected  by  the  county  of  Fred- 
erick, of  which  Winchester  was  the  county-seat,  as  its 
representative  in  the  House  of  Burgesses  in  Yirginia. 
As  the  election  was  a  contested  one,  his  expenses  as  a 
candidate  for  the  office  are  thus  given  :  "  A  hogshead 
and  a  barrel  of  punch,  thirty-five  gallons  of  wine,  forty- 
three  gallons  of  strong  beer,  cider,  and  dinner  for  his 
friends ;"  all  amounting  to  "  thirty-nine  pounds  and 
six  shillings,  Yirginia  currency."  He  was  absent  at 
that  time  at  Fort  Cumberland,  arid  Colonel  WARD, 

2* 


34  WASHINGTON. 

who  sat  on  the  bench  and  represented  him  as  his 
friend  that  day,  was  carried  round  the  town  in  the 
midst  of  general  applause,  all  huzzaing  for  Colonel 
WASHINGTON.  If  this  little  episode  in  his  life  at  the 
age  of  twenty-six  is  distasteful  to  the  admirers  of  his 
staid  dignity  in  after-years,  they  may  remember  that 
a  century  of  changes  has  since  passed  over  Aine 
society,  but  still  leaving  the  popular  heart  bounding 
as  wildly  now  at  success  in  election  contests,  as  in  the 
settlements  of  Virginia,  one  hundred  years  ago. 

When  WASHINGTON  made  his  first  appearance  in  the 
Colonial  Assembly,  in  January,  J  75(J,  the  members  of 
that  body  unanimously  complimented  him  with  a  vote 
of  thanks  for  his  previous  military  services ;  and  when 
the  speaker  communicated  to  him  this  vote  in  the 
most  flattering  terms,  he  rose  from  his  seat  to  express 
his  acknowledgment  of  the  honor ;  and  such  was  his 
extreme  modesty  and  diffidence  in  his  new  situation, 
that  he  blushed  and  stammered,  without  being  able  to 
utter  distinctly  a  word.  The  speaker  relieved  him 
from  his  embarrassing  situation,  by  saying  with  a 
smile,  "  Sit  down,  Mr.  WASHINGTON  ;  your  modesty  is 
equal  to  your  valor,  and  that  surpasses  the  power  of 
any  language  I  possess." 

The  same  month  that  WASHINGTON  took  his  seat  in 
the  Colonial  Assembly  of  Virginia,  he  married  Mrs. 
MARTHA  CUSTIS,  a  wealthy  and  accomplished  widow, 
who  had  captivated  his  heart  just  at  the  close  of  his 
military  services.  She  had  been  left  about  two  years 
before,  by  the  death  of  her  former  husband.  Colonel 
DANIEL  PARKE  CUSTIS,  with  an  ample  fortune,  and  two 
lovely  children,  a  son  and  a  daughter.  WASHINGTON 


WASHINGTON.  35 

met  lier  by  accident  at  the  house  of  a  friend  in  1758. 
during  a  journey  which  his  military  duties  called  him 
to  make  to  Williamsburg,  and  admiration,  love,  and  the 
conquest  of  two  willing  hearts,  soon  succeeded.  The 
nuptials  are  described  as  having  been  on  the  grand- 
est scale,  many  gentlemen  being  present  in  gold-lace, 
but  none  ''looking  like  the  man  himself."  She,  too, 
is  said  by  her  contemporaries  to  have  been  of  rare 
beauty  and  loveliness  ;  and  it  is  not  probable  that 
WASHINGTON'S  honey-moon  was  haunted  by  visions  of 
either  MAKY  PHILLIPSE,  or  his  "  lowland  beauty."  She 
was  amiable  and  exemplary  through  life,  and  the 
virtues  of  both  the  mother  and  wife  of  WASHINGTON 
have  long  been  enshrined  in  a  nation's  heart,  and  the 
dust  of  Virginia  is  sacred  where  they  rest. 

The  succeeding  fifteen  years  of  WASHINGTON'S  life 
were  spent  in  domestic  retirement,  interrupted  only  by 
his  public  duties  as  member  of  the  Colonial  Assembly,  in 
which  body  he  continued  his  seat.  His  time  was  now 
devoted  to  agricultural  and  rural  pursuits,  but  his  ample 
fortune  enabled  him  to  maintain  a  style  of  living  equal 
to  Virginia  gentlemen  of  the  first  rank  in  society ;  and 
his  home,  where  all  the  domestic  virtues  clustered, 
became  the  unrivalled  abode  of  refinement  and  hos- 
pitality. Williamsburg  and  Annapolis  were  the  seats 
of  colonial  government  of  Virginia  and  Maryland,  and 
during  the  winter,  the  elite  of  society  in  these  colonies 
were  accustomed  to  spend  much  of  their  time  in  those 
places,  forming  brilliant  circles  at  the  vice-regal  courts 
of  the  royal  governors.  WASHINGTON  and  his  family 
were  stars  of  the  first  magnitude  in  these  galaxies  of 
intelligence  and  fashion. 


36  WASHINGTON. 

We  look  in  vain  for  the  record  of  WASHINGTON'S 
Masonic  life  during  this  period,  for  few  of  the  annals 
of  Masonry  in  Virginia  at  that  time  now  exist.  Both 
records  and  traditions  assert  that  her  most  noble  sons 
were  Masons,  but  the  lapse  of  time  and  the  devasta- 
tions of  war  have  left  few  memorials  of  their  mystic 
labors.  No  general  Grand  East  existed  either  in  Vir- 
ginia or  Maryland,  in  which  the  brethren  might  con- 
vene ;  and  the  different  lodges  in  these  colonies,  work- 
ing under  no  common  authority,  and  having  little  in- 
tercourse with  their  parent  heads,  were  often  remiss 
in  the  preservation  of  their  records,  leaving  us  now 
only  the  faint  footprints  of  Masonry  there  from  the 
old  French  War  down  to  the  Revolution.  Colonial 
New  England,  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Carolina,  and 
Georgia  had  at  this  period  each  their  Provincial 
Grand  Easts,  whose  master-workmen  history  has  made 
her  own ;  and  when  along  the  pathway  of  Masonry  in 
colonial  Virginia  we  see  her  noblest  sons  emerging 
from  the  obscurity  of  unrecorded  Masonic  fellowship, 
and  with  hand-grips  strong  and  true  greeting  brethren 
from  the  North,  the  East,  and  the  South,  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  Be  volution,  we  deeply  deplore  the 
loss  of  records  relating  to  the  Mystic  Art  in  that  col- 
ony previous  to  that  period.  Enough  yet  remains  to 
inspire  the  poet's  pen,  and  a  gifted  brother  has 
written : 


;  Brave  old  Virginia — proud  you  well  may  bo, 
When  you  retrace  that  glorious  dynasty 
Of  intellectual  giants,  who  were  known 
AP  much  the  nation's  children  as  your  own— 


WASHINGTON.  37 

Your  brilliant  jewels,  aye,  you  gave  them  all, 
Like  Sparta's  mother,  at  your  country's  call ! 
The  Senate  knew  their  eloquence  and  power, 
And  the  red  battle  in  its  wildest  hour. 
Xo  matter  whence — to  glory  or  the  grave — 
They  shone  conspicuous,  bravest  of  the  brave. 
One  o'er  the  bravest  and  the  best  bore  sway- 
Bright  is  his  memory  in  our  hearts  to-day ! 
His  bosom  burned  with  patriotic  fire — 
Virginia's  son  became  his  country's  sire ; 
And  in  those  lofty  claims  we  proudly  vie, 
He  wa%  our  brother  of  tlie  Mystic  Tie!" 


CHAPTEK  III. 

Commencement  of  the  Revolution.—  State  of  Masonry  in  the  colony  at  that 
time.  —  First  Congress  at  Philadelphia.  —  PEYTON  RANDOLPH,  its  president, 
a  Mason.  —  WASHINGTON  a  member.  —  Second  Congress.  —  Death  of  Mr. 
RANDOLPH.  —  WASHINGTON  appointed  corn  mander-in  -chief  of  the  army.— 
Death  of  General  WAKREN.  —  WASHINGTON  takes  command  of  the  army.  — 
Mrs.  WASHINGTON  visits  the  headquarters.—  Formation  of  American 
Union  Military  Lodge.  —  Seal  of  this  lodge.  —  Origin  of  its  design.  —  St. 
John's  Regimental  Lodge.—  Removal  of  American  Union  Lodge  to  New 
York.  —  Its  disasters  at  the  battle  of  Long  Island.  —  WASHINGTON  evacuates 
New  York.  —  Crosses  New  Jersey,  and  after  the  battles  of  Trenton  and 
Princeton,  goes  into  winter-quarters  at  Morristowr..  —  State  of  Masonry  in 
America  at  this  period.  —  WASHINGTON  selected  as  Grand  Master  by  lodges 
in  Virginia.—  Campaign  of  1777,  and  winter-quarters  at  Valley  Forge.  — 
WASHINGTON  at  prayer.  —  Statue  of  him  at  Lancaster,  Pennsylvania.  —  Cam- 
paign of  1778.—  WASHINGTON  present  at  Masonic  celebration  ki  Philadel- 
phia. —  Dr.  SMITH'S  sermon.  —Published,  with  dedication  to  WASHINGTON.  — 
Colonel  PARK'S  Masonic  Ode.  —  "WASHINGTON,"  a  Masonic  toast.  ---Cam- 
paign of  1779.  —  Masonic  celebration  near  West  Point.  —  Washington  Mili- 
tary Lodge  formed.  —  WASHINGTON'S  visits  to  this  lodge. 


commencement  of  the  American  He  vo- 
lution was  a  new  era  in  the  Masonic  as 
well  as  political  history  of  our  country. 
As  the  biographer  of  WASHINGTON'S  pub- 
lic history  is  obliged  to  trace  it  along  the 
pathway  of  current  public  events,  so  also  his  Masonic 
life,  when  fully  given,  must  be  blended  with  the  Ma- 
sonic history  of  the  times  in  which  he  lived.  From  the. 
first  introduction  of  warranted  lodges  into  America 


WASHINGTON.  39 

in  1733,  until  the  commencement  of  the  Revolution, 
Masonry  had  been  in  a  state  of  progress  in  this  coun- 
try, so  that  in  1774  there  were  warranted  lodges  in 
each  of  the  thirteen  colonies,  and  in  seven  of  them  Pro- 
vincial Grand  Lodges.  Massachusetts  and  Pennsyl- 
vania had  then  each  two  grand  bodies  of  this  class, 
making  nine  supervising  Masonic  powers  in  the  colo- 
nies ;  and  when  we  add  to  these  the  Grand*  Lodges  of 
Scotland,  Ireland,  and  the  two  of  England,  which 
each  exercised  Masonic  authority  in  this  country,  we 
find  the  sources  of  Masonic  power  in  the  colonies  then 
to  be  thirteen.  The  number  of  their  subordinate  lodges 
is  lost  to  history,  and  the  roll  of  the  workmen  who 
wrought  upon  the  first  temple  of  American  Masonry 
has  passed  into  the  archives  of  the  Grand  Lodge 
above.  The  foundations  of  that  temple  still  remain, 
but 

u  Its  walls  are  dust,  its  trowels  rust — 
Its  builders  with  the  saints,  we  trust." 

In  1774,  when  the  clouds  of  political  adversity  were 
gathering  thick  above  our  country,  and  seemed  ready 
to  burst  upon  it  with  all  their  complicated  gloom,  a 
congress  of  delegates  from  the  different  colonies  was 
convened  at  Philadelphia,  and  WASHINGTON  was  a 
member  from  Virginia.  There  were  assembled  in  that 
council-chamber  men  who  had  never  met  before. 
From  New  England,  from  the  banks  of  the  Hudson, 
the  Delaware,  the  Susquehanna,  and  the  Potomac,  and 
from  far  down  in  the  sunny  South  they  came,  and  all 
looked  kindly  on  each  other  then ;  for  Common  dangers 
and  a  common  weakness  bespoke  the  necessity  of  a 


40  WASHINGTON. 

unity  of  action.  Many  brothers  of  the  mystic  tie  were 
members  of  that  body,  and  over  its  deliberations 
PEYTON  RANDOLPH,  the  Provincial  Grand  Master  of  Vir- 
ginia, was  selected  from  the  bright  roll  of  master 
workmen,  to  preside.  Mr.  ADAMS  said  it  was  a  collec- 
tion of  the  greatest  men  upon  this  continent,  in  point 
of  abilities,  virtues,  and  fortunes.  WASHINGTON'S  posi- 
tion in  it  may  be  seen  from  a  remark  made  by  PATRICK 
HENRY,  who  was  also  a  member,  to  one  who  asked 
him  whom  he  considered  the  greatest  man  in  that  body. 
"  If  you  speak  of  eloquence/'  said  he,  "  Mr.  RUTLEDGE 
of  South  Carolina  is  by  far  the  greatest  orator ;  but  if 
you  speak  of  solid  information  and  sound  judgment, 
Colonel  WASHINGTON  is  unquestionably  the  greatest 
man  on  that  floor." 

A  second  session  of  which  WASHINGTON  was  also  a 
member,  assembled  the  following  year  in  Philadelphia, 
and  Mr.  RANDOLPH  was  again  called  to  preside  over  its 
councils.  His  health,  however,  failing,  JOHN  HANCOCK 
was  elected  his  successor  as  president ;  and  before  the 
session  closed.  Mr.  RANDOLPH  died,  and  his  remains 
were  taken  to  Virginia  and  buried  with  Masonic  honors. 
The  contest  at  arms  between  the  colonies  and  the 
mother  country  had  already  begun  at  Concord  and 
Lexington,  and  WASHINGTON  was  elected  ctfmmander- 
in-chief  of  the  American  army.  He  was  at  this  time 
forty-three  years  of  age.  He  had  left  his  home  at 
Mount  Vernon  but  a  few  weeks  before,  expecting  soon 
to  return ;  but  the  duties  of  his  appointment  admitted 
of  no  delay,  and  after  giving  a  few  written  directions 
for  his  domestic*  business,  and  executing  a  will,  which 
he  inclosed  in  an  affectionate  letter  to  his  wife,  ho 


WASHINGTON.  41 

repaired  to  Cambridge,  where  the  army  was  then 
stationed. 

The  British  troops  then  held  possession  of  Boston ; 
and  the  very  day  that  WASHINGTON  received  his  com- 
mission, the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill  was  fought,  and  hi 
it  fell  General  JOSEPH  WARREN,  Grand  Master  of  the 
Massachusetts  Grand  Lodge.  It  was  the  first  grand 
offering  of  American  Masonry  at  the  altar  of  liberty, 
and  the  ground-floor  of  her  temple  was  blood-stained 
at  its  eastern  gate.  The  second  Grand  Master  who 
fell  at  the  post  of  duty,  was  PEYTON  KANDOLPH,  in  the 
following  October,  whose  death  has  been  already 
noticed.  One  fell  on  the  battle-field,  and  the  other  in 
the  council-chamber  of  our  country.  Both  their 
graves  were  wet  with  a  nation's  tears,  and  their  Masonic 
brethren  placed  on  each  the  green  acacia. 

WASHINGTON  reached  Cambridge  on  the  2d  of 
July,  and  on  the  following  day  took  command  of  the 
army.  There  were  gathered  arourd  him  a  stern  band 
of  determined  men,  who  had  left  their  peaceful  avoca- 
tions and  taken  arms  to  defend  their  hearth-stones. 
Of  uniform  they  had  little,  and  their  arms  were  such 
as  were  found  in  possession  of  men  unused  to  war. 
Some  of  their  officers  had -before  held  command  in  the 
old  French  and  Indian  War,  and  some  had  never  held 
a  sword  before.  To  maintain  his  numbers,  provide 
for  their  necessities,  and  reduce  them  to  discipline, 
was  WASHINGTON'S  first  care.  But  the  year  closed 
dark  and  gloomy  upon  the  prospects  of  the  army. 
Mrs.  WASHINGTON  left  Mount  Yernon  late  in  the  fall  to 
spend  the  winter  months  at  headquarters,  and  many 
of  the  officers  were  also  joined  by  their  wives ;  but  the 


42  WASHINGTON. 

other  officers  and  soldiers  had  few  pleasures  in  their 
winter- quarters  to  make  them  forget  the  homes  they 
had  left. 

During  the  previous  French  and  Indian  "War,  military 
lod^o  warrants  had  been  granted  by  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  Massachusetts  to  brethren  in  the  army ;  and  at  the 
close  of  wearisome  marches,  and  in  their  cheerless 
camps,  the  Masonic  lodge-room  became  a  bivouac  in 
the  tired  soldier's  life,  where  his  toils  and  privations 
were  forgotten,  and  the  finest  feelings  of  his  heart 
cultivated.  While  the  Connecticut  line  of  the  army 
was  encamped  during  this  winter  at  Koxbury,  near 
Boston,  a  movement  was  made  by  the  brethren  in  it, 
early  in  February,  to  establish  a  Masonic  lodge  in 
their  camp.  For  this  purpose  they  applied  to  the 
Grand  Officers  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Massachusetts, 
of  which  JOHN  HOWE  was  Grand  Master,  and  Colonel 
RICHARD  GRIDLEY  his  Deputy,  for  the  necessary  author- 
ity. The  petition  was  signed  by  Colonel  SAMUEL  H. 
PARSONS,  Colonel  SAMUEL  WYLLYS,  Colonel  JOEL  CLARK, 
Major  JOHN  PARK,  Major  THOMAS  CHASE,  Captain  EZE- 
KIEL  SCOTT,  and  sundry  other  brethren,  praying  that 
they  might  be  formed  into  a  regular  lodge. 

By  appointment  from  Colonel  RICHARD  GEIDLEY,  the 
Deputy  Grand  Master,  a  meeting  of  the  brethren  was 
held  in  the  Roxbury  camp,  on  the  13th  of  February, 
1776.  At  this  meeting,  it  was  agreed  that  Colonel 
CLARK  be  recommended  as  Master,  Major  PARK  as 
Senior  "Warden,  Major  CHASE  as  Junior  Warden,  Col- 
onel PARSONS  as  Treasurer,  and  Ensign  JONATHAN  HART 
as  Secretary.  The  foregoing  proceedings  having  been 
presented  to  the  Deputy  Grand  Master,  who  was  not 


WASHINGTON.  43 

present  at  the  meeting,  upon  the  15th  of  the  same 
month  he  issued  to  them  a  warrant  or  dispensation 
to  hold  a  lodge  in  their  camp  at  Hoxbury,  or  wherever 
their  body  should  remove  on  the  continent  of  America, 
provided  it  was  where  no  other  Grand  Master  held 
authority. 

It  was  called  American  Union  Lodge,  and  both  its 
name  and  the  device  on  its  seal  were  significant  of  the 
aid  lent  by  Masonry  in  the  hour  of  our  country's  need. 
Both  were  expressive  of  the  great  sentiment  which 
then  pervaded  the  American  heart.  If  Liberty  was 
its  key-note,  Union  was  its  watchword.  The  union 
of  the  Anglo-American  colonies  for  mutual  defence  had 
been  proposed  in  1741,  by  DANIEL  COXE  of  New  Jersey, 
the  first  Provincial  Grand  Master  in  America.  It  had 
again  been  advocated  in  1754  by  Dr.  FRANKLIN,  Pro- 
vincial Grand  Master  of  Pennsylvania,  who  also  sym- 
bolized the  idea  at  the  close  of  an  essay,  which  he 
published  on  this  subject,  by  a  wood-cut  representing 
a  snake  divided  into  parts,  with  the  initial  letter  of 
each  colony  on  a  separate  part,  underneath  which  he 
placed  the  motto,  "  JOIN  OK  DIE." 

The  purposes  for  which  both  COXE  and  FRANKLIN  had 
unsuccessfully  advocated  a  federal  union  of  the  colo- 
nies, had  been  to  protect  them  against  the  French 
"When  the  Revolution  commenced,  and  the  union  of 
the  colonies  .against  British  aggression  was  urged, 
many  of  the  newspapers  adopted  FRANKLIN'S  device 
and  motto.  When  the  Union  had  taken  place,  tho 
device  was*  changed  as  a  newspaper  heading,  and  a 
coiled  rattlesnake,  with  its  head  erect  to  strike,  was 
substituted,  with  the  motto,  "  DON'T  TREAD  ON  ME."  Both 


44  WASHINGTON. 

these  devices  and  mottoes  were  inscribed  on  flags  and 
otluT  ensigns  of  war  of  the  provincial  troops  at  the 
commencement  of  the  Revolution.  This  device,  as  a 
colonial  emblem,  was  soon  after  changed  to  a  circle 
consisting  of  a  chain  with  thirteen  links,  containing  in 
each  an  initial  letter  of  one  of  .the  thirteen  colonies.  It 
was  also  placed  upon  some  of  the  currency  of  the  col- 
onies as  early  as  1776. 

The  seal  of  American  Union 
Lodge  -bore  the  same  popular 
American  idea  in  its  symbolism, 
having  as  its  principal  device  a 
chain  of  thirteen  circular  links, 
around  a  central  part,  on  which 
was  the  square  and  compasses, 
with  the  sun,  moon,  and  a  star 

^^^     ^     ^^     buming      fa 

beneath  them,  the  extremities  of  the  chain  being  united 
by  two  clasped  hands.  For  the  leading  idea  of  tho 
symbolism  of  the  chain  representing  the  union  of  the 
colonies,  the  brethren  were  probably  indebted  to  Dr. 
FRANKLIN,  who  visited  the  American  camp  in  1770,  as 
one  of  a  committee  from  Congress  to  confer  with 
WASHINGTON  on  the  affairs  of  the  war ;  and  the  seal  is 
supposed  to  have  been  engraved  by  PAUL  REVERE,  a 
distinguished  Mason  and  patriot  of  Massachusetts, 
who  was  often  employed  at  that  period  to  engrave 
such  designs. 

Although  a  Military  Lodge  warrant  had  been  granted 
by  the  Masonic  authorities  of  New  York  on  the  24th 
of  July,  1775,  for  a  lodge  in  the  provincial  troops  of 
that  colony,  which  was  called  St.  John's  Regimental 


WASHINGTON.  45 

Lodge,  yet  the  American  Union  Lodge  was  the  first 
organized  in  the  Continental  army,  and  may  be  justly 
regarded  as  the  eldest  Masonic  daughter  of  the  Amer- 
ican Union.  It  was  organized  in  troops  of  which 
WASHINGTON  had  command,  and  though  his  military 
duties  did  not  admit  of  his  attendance  on  its  meetings 
during  the  time  the  army 'was  encamped  around 
Boston,  he  subsequently  often  joined  his  Masonic 
brethren  within  its  walls,  and  ever  inculcated  among 
its  members,  both  by  precept  and  example,  a  love  of 
Masonry.  This  lodge  went  with  his  army,  when  it  re- 
moved to  New  York,  and  held  its  meetings  there  while 
the  city  remained  in  his  possession.  Its  last  meeting 
there  was  on  the  15th  of  August,  1776,  a  few  days  be- 
fore the  disastrous  battle  on  Long  Island.  The  next 
subsequent  record  of  this  lodge  states : 

"  The  British  troops  having  landed  with  a  large  body  on 
Long  Island,  the  attention  of  the  American  army  was  ne- 
cessary to  repel  them.  On  the  ever  memorable  27th  of 
August,  the  Right  Worshipful  JOEL  CLARK,  ELISHA  HOPKINS, 
OZIAS  BISSELL,  JOSEPH  JEWETT,  NATHANIEL  GORE,  being  taken 
prisoners  ;  and  on  the  13th  of  September,  Brother  JAMES 
CHAPMAN,  MICAJAH  GLEASON,  killed  ;  WILLIAM  CLEAVLAND  and 
JOHN  P.  WYLLYS  taken  prisoners,  and  Brother  OTHO  H.  WIL- 
LIAMS taken  prisoner  at  Fort  Washington,  by  .which  mis- 
fortunes the  lodge  was  deprived  of  its  Master,  and  some 
most  worthy  members,  and  many  other  brethren  were  called 
to  act  in  separate  departments,  wherefore  the  lodge  stood 
closed  without  day. 

"  (Signed)  JONATHAN  HART,  Secretary." 

No  further  meetings  of  this  lodge  were  held  until 


46  WASHINGTON. 

March,  1777 ;  and  in  the  mean  time,  JOEL  CLAUK,  its 
Master,  died  in  captivity. 

After  the  disastrous  battle  of  Long  Island,  WASH- 
INGTON found  it  impossible  for  the  safety  of  his  army 
to  retain  possession  of  New  York,  and  he  evacuated 
the  city  about  the  middle  of  September,  after  having 
his  headquarters  there  five  months.  From  this  time 
until  the  close  of  1776,  he  did  not  long  enjoy  a  resting- 
place  for  his  troops.  His  strongholds  upon  the  Hud- 
son were  lost,  and  he  retreated  from  river  to  river  in 
New  Jersey,  till  he  had  crossed  the  Delaware,  and  en- 
camped on  its  Pennsylvania  side.  There  he  turned 
upon  his  pursuers,  and  on  the  25th  of  December  re- 
crossed  the  river  amidst  floods  of  ice,  surprised  a  por- 
tion of  the  British  army  while  engaged  in  their  Christ- 
mas revels  at  Trenton,  and  gained  a  decided  victory. 
This  at  once  turned  the  tide  of  war,  and  after  further 
successes  at  Princeton,  his  army  went  into  winter- 
quarters  at  Morristown. 

The  close  of  1776  was  the  darkest  period  in  the  his- 
tory of  American  Masonry.  Every  Grand  East  on 
the  American  continent  was  shrouded  in  darkness. 
Massachusetts  and  Virginia  had  each  lost  a  Grand 
Master  since  the  commencement  of  the  war ;  the  old 
Grand  Lodge  of  New  York  was  dissolved,  by  its  Grand 
Master,  Sir  JOHN  JOHNSON,  fleeing  from  his  home,  and 
becoming  an  officer  in  the  British  army ;  the  labors  of 
the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania  were  suspended, 
and  their  hall  was  soon  after  made  a  prison-room  for 
citizens  who  were  disaffected  to  the  American  causa 
In  the  spring  of  1777  a  ray  of  light  first  arose  in  the 
East.  The  members  remaining  of  Dr.  WARREN'S  Grand 


WASHINGTON.  47 

Lodge  were  convened,  and  they  resolved,  that  as  the 
political  head  of  this  country  had  destroyed  all  con- 
nection between  the  States  and  the  country  from  which 
that  Grand  Lodge  derived  its  commissioned  authority, 
it  was  their  privilege  to  assume  an  elective  supremacy, 
and  they  accordingly  elected  JOSEPH  WEBB  their  Grand 
Master.  Virginia,  too,  a  few  months  later,  called  a 
convention  of  its  lodges,  which  recommended  to  its 
constituents  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  as  the  most  proper 
person  to  be  elected  the  first  independent  Grand 
Master  of  Virginia.  WASHINGTON  at  that-  time  had 
held  no  official  position  in  Masonry,  and  he  modestly 
declined  the  intended  honor,  when  informed  of  the 
wish  of  his  Virginia  brethren,  for  two  reasons  :  first,  he 
did  not  consider  it  masonically  legal,  that  one  who  had 
never  been  installed  as  Master  or  Warden  of  a  lodge, 
should  be  elected  Grand  Master ;  and  second,  his 
country  claimed  at  the  time  all  his  services  in  the 
tented  field.  JOHN  BLAIR,  therefore,  the  Master  of 
Williamsburg  Lodge,  who  was  an  eminent  citizen  of 
Virginia,  was  elected  in  his  stead. 

The  military  campaign  of  1777  gave"  to  history,  in 
quick  succession,  the  battles  of  Brandywine  and  Ger- 
mantown,  the  evacuation  of  Philadelphia  by  Congress, 
and  its  occupation  by  British  troops,  and  closed  by  the 
retirement  of  the  American  army  into  winter-quarters 
at  Valley  Forge.  Here,  as  the  shoeless  army  marched 
to  their  cheerless  encampment,  hundreds  of  bare  feet 
left  footprints  of  blood  in  their  frozen  path.  WASH- 
INGTON was  moved  to  tears  at  the  sight,  and  his  touch- 
ing exclamation  of  "poor  fclloivs"  was  responded  to 
by  a  "  God  bless  your  Excellency,  your  poor  soldiers' 


48  WASHINGTON. 

friend,"  by  the  suffering  soldiers.  Masonic  traditions 
state  that  military  lodges  were  held  in  the  camp  at 
Valley  Forge,  which  WASHINGTON  often  attended,  but 
the  loss  of  their  records  prevents  us  from  verifying  the 
statement.  His  headquarters  that  winter  were  at  the 
house  of  a  Quaker  preacher ;  and  tradition  has  told 
us  how  the  man  of  peace  surprised  him  one  day  in  a 
retired  place,  praying  audibly  and  fervently  for  the 
success  of  the  American  arms,  and  that  he  thereupon 
assured  his  family  that  America  would  finally  triumph, 
for  such  prayers  would  surely  be  answered. 

"  Oh!  \vlio  shall  know  the  migJit 
Of  the  words  he  utter'd  there  ? 
The  fate  of  nations  then  was  turn'd 
By  the  fervor  of  that  prayer. 

"  Hut  wouldst  thou  know  his  words, 
Who  Avander'd  there  alone? 
Go,  read  enroll'd  in  heaven's. archives 
The  prayer  of  WASHINGTON  !" 

There  is  an  interesting  Masonic  memorial  of  WASH- 
INGTON at  this  period,  which  has  long  been  in  posses- 
sion of  Lodge  No.  43,  at  Lancaster,  Pennsylvania. 
While  Congress  held  its  sessions  in  York,  during  the 
time  the  British  occupied  Philadelphia,  WASHINGTON 
visited  that  borough,  and  his  striking  and  majestic 
appearance  so  impressed  a  young  man  of  that  vicinity, 
that  he  carved  a  life-size  statue  of  him  from  a  single 
block  of  wood,  which  was  afterwards  presented  to 
Lodge  No.  43,  and  is  still  in  its  possession.  The  name 
of  the  young  self-taught  artist  who  carved  it  has  long 
been  forgotten,  but  the  outlines  and  expression  of  the 


WASHINGTON.  49 

statue    are    said   to    bear  a  striking  resemblance  to 
WASHINGTON  at  that  period. 

During  the  following,  year  the  British  troops  evac- 
uated Philadelphia,  and  the  campaign  of  1778  closed 
with  the  contending  armies  in  nearly  the  same  posi- 
tion as  they  were  in  the  summer  of  1776.  In  the  latter 
part  of  December,  WASHINGTON  visited  Philadelphia, 
where  Congress  was  in  session;  and  while  there,  {he 
Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania  celebrated  the  festival 
of  St.  John  the  Evangelist.  WASHINGTON  was  present 
on  the  occasion,  and  was  honored  with  the  chief  place 
in  the  procession,  being  supported  on  his  right  by  the 
Grand  Master,  and  on  his  left  by  the  Deputy  Grand 
Master.  More  than  three  hundred  brethren  joined  in 
this  procession.  They  met  at  nine  o'clock,  at  the 
college,  and  being  properly  clothed,  the  officers  in  the 
jewels  of  their  office,  and  other  badges  of  their  dignity, 
the  procession  moved  at  eleven  o'clock,  and  proceeded 
to  Christ  Church,  where  a  Masonic  sermon,  for  the 
benefit  of  the  poor,  was  preached  by  the  Rev.  Bro. 
WILLIAM  SMITH,  D.  D.,  Grand  Secretary  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Pennsylvania.  In  it  he  beautifully  alluded 
to  WASHINGTON,  who  was  present,  as  the  Cincinnatus 
of  America ;  saying  also,  "  Such,  too,  if  we  divine 
aright,  will  future  ages  pronounce  the  character  of  a 
**#*#*####.  k^  vou  aii  anticipate  me  in  a  name, 
which  delicacy  forbids  me  on  this  occasion  to  mention. 
Honored  with  his  presence  as  a  Brother,  you  will  seek 
to  derive  virtue  from  his  example."  Great  poverty 
and  distress  had  been  occasioned  in  Philadelphia  by 
the  British  troops  during  their  occupancy  of  the  city, 
and  in  accordance  with  Masonic"  custom,  a  call  was 

3 


50  WASHINGTON. 

made  on  the  fraternity  in  this  sermon  for  the  relief  oi 
those  in  distress.  Having  eloquently  presented  the 
duty  of  charity,  the  Eev.  Brother  closed  his  discourse 
by  saying:  "  But  I  will  detain  you  no  longer,  brethren! 
you  all  pant  to  have  a  foretaste  of  the  joy  of  angels,  by 
calling  into  exercise  this  heavenly  virtue  of  charity, 
•whereby  you  will  give  glory  to  the  Thrice  Blessed 
TKree,  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  one  God  over 
all!"  At  the  word  "glory,"  the  brethren  rose  to- 
gether; and  in  reverential  posture,  on  pronouncing 
the  names  of  the  Triune  God,  accompanied  the  same 
by  a  corresponding  repetition  of  the  ancient  sign  or 
symbol  of  Divine  homage  and  obeisance,  concluding 
with  the  following  response,  "Amen!  So  let  it  ever 
be !"  More  than  four  hundred  pounds  were  immedi- 
ately collected  for  the  relief  of  the  poor,  and  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania  was  made  on  the  occa- 
sion the  almoner  of  WASHINGTON'S  bounty.  This  ser- 
mon of  Dr.  SMITH  was  published  soon  after,  by  direc- 
tion of  the  Grand  Lodge,  and  the  profits  arising  from 
its  sale  were  also  given  to  the  poor.  The  pamphlet  was 
prefaced  with  the  following  dedication  to  WASHINGTON  : 

"  To  his  Excellency,  GEORGE  WASHINGTON,  Esq.,  general 
and  commander-in-chief  of  the  armies  of  the  United  States 
of  North  America — the  friend  of  his  country  and  mankind, 
ambitions  of  no  higher  title,  if  higher  were  possible — the 
following  sermon,  honored  with  his  presence  when  delivered, 
is  dedicated  in  testimony  of  the  sincerest  brotherly  affectio 
and  esteem  of  his  merit. 

"  By  order  of  tne  Brethren, 

"  JOHN  COATS, 
"  Grand  Secretary,  pro  tern  " 


WASHINGTON.  51 

No  earlier  production,  either  literary  or  Masonic,  had 
been  dedicated  to  WASHINGTON.  "We  regret  the  want 
of  Masonic  records  to  give  the  names  of  other  visiting 
brethren  who  were  present  at  this  festival.  An  ode 
commemorative  of  WASHINGTON'S  participating  in  the 
ceremonies,  and  the  position  he  occupied,  was  written 
a  few  months  after  by  Colonel  JOHN  PARK,  a  distin- 
guished member  of  American  Union  Lodge,  addressed 
to  Colonel  PROCTOR,  of  Pennsylvania,  bearing  date, 
February  7,  1779,  in  which  he  says : 

"  See  WASHINGTON,  lie  leads  the  train, 
'Tis  he  commands  the  grateful  strain ; 
See,  every  crafted  son  obeys, 
And  to  the  godlike  brother  homage  pays. 
******** 
Let  fame  resound  him  through  the  land, 
And  echo,  *Tis  our  Master  Grand! 
******** 
'Tis  he  our  ancient  craft  shall  sway,  - 
Whilst  we,  with  three  times  three,  obey? 

We  have  no  doubt,  from  this  time  onward  it  was  tho 
desire  of  many  of  the  brethren,  especially  those  in  tho 
army,  to  see  WASHINGTON  placed  at  the  head  of  Ameri- 
can Masonry.  At  a  public  festival  of  American  Union 
Lodge,  held  at  Beading,  in  Connecticut,  on  the  25th  of 
March,  1779,  the  first  toast  given  was,  "  GENERAL 
WASHINGTON  ;"  which  was  followed  by  one  to  "  The 
memory  of  WARREN,  MONTGOMERY,  and  WOOSTER,"  three 
distinguished  Masons  who  had  fallen  on  the  battle- 
fields of  the  Revolution.  From  this  time  onward  tho 
name  of  WASHINGTON  became  a  Masonic  toast,  and  the 
first  in  order  at  all  Masonic  festivals. 


52  WASHINGTON. 

On  the  23d  of  June,  WASHINGTON  established  his 
headquarters  at  Now  "Windsor,  on  the  Hudson,  near 
Newburg.  The  following  day  American  Union  Lodge 
met  at  Nelson's  Point,  and  proceeded  from  thence  to 
West  Point  to  celebrate  the  festival  of  St.  John  the 
Baptist.  Being  joined  by  a  number  of  Masonic  breth- 
ren from  the  brigades  there,  and  on  Constitution 
Island,  they  proceeded  from  General  PATTEBSON'S  quar- 
ters, on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  to  the  Robinson 
House,  where  they  retired  to  a  bower  in  front  of  the 
house,  and  were  joined  by  General  WASHINGTON  and  his 
family.  Here  addresses  were  delivered  by  Rev.  Dr. 
HITCHCOCK  and  Major  WILLIAM  HULL  (afterwards  Gen- 
eral HULL  of  the  war  of  1812).  Dinner,  music,  toasts, 
and  songs  closed  the  entertainment.  WASHINGTON  then 
returned  to  his  barge,  attended  by  the  wardens  and 
secretary  of  the  lodge,  amidst  a  crowd  of  brethren,  the 
music  playing  "  GOD  save  America  ;"  and  as  he  and  his 
family  embarked  to  recross  the  river  to  New  Windsor, 
his  departure  was  announced  by  three  cheers  from  the 
shore,  which  were  answered  by  three  from  the  barge, 
the  music  beating  the  "Grenadiers'  March."  Many 
distinguished  officers  of  the  army,  who  were  Masons, 
were  present  at  this  festival;  and  the  brethren  in  the 
Massachusetts  line  soon  after  petitioned  the  Massa- 
chusetts Grand  Lodge  for  a  warrant  to  hold  a  travel- 
ling lodge  in  their  camp.  The  petition  was  granted  on 
the  6th  of  October,  1779,  constituting  General  JOHN 
PATTERSON,  Master,  and  Colonel  BENJAMIN  TUPPER  and 
Major  WILLIAM  HULL,  Wardens.  The  lodge  was  called 
"  WASHINGTON  LODGE."  Captain  MOSES  GREENLEAF  of 
the  Eleventh  Massachusetts  Regiment  afterwards  be- 


WASHINGTON.  53 

came  Master  of  this  lodge.  His  son,  SIMON  GREENLEAF, 
late  Past  Grand  Master  of  Maine,  said  he  had  often 
heard  his  father  mention  WASHINGTON'S  visits  to  this 
lodge  while  commander-in-chief,  and  the  high  gratifi- 
cation  they  gave  to  the  officers  and  members,  es- 
pecially as  he  went  without  ceremony,  as  a  private 
brother. 


CHAPTEK  IV. 

WASHINGTON'S  headquarters  again  at  Morristown.— Attends  Masonic  cele- 
bration there,  December  27, 1779. — Masonic  army  convention  proposed. — 
Its  meeting  and  proceedings. — Its  address  to  American  Grand  Masters. — 
Existing  Grand  Lodges  at  this  time. — Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania  pro- 
pose a  General  Grand  Lodge,  and  choose  WASHINGTON  as  General  Grand 
Master. — Sends  notification  of  these  proceedings  to  other  Grand  Lodges.— 
Letter  to  JOSEPH  WEBB.— His  reply.— Second  letter  to  Mr.  WEBB. — Grand 
Lodge  of  Massachusetts  submits  proposition  from  Grand  Lodge  of  Penn- 
sylvania to  subordinate  lodges. — Kesohitions  of  Warren  Lodge  at  Machins, 
Maine,  in  favor  of  WASHINGTON  as  General  Grand  Master. — Final  action 
of  Grand  Lodge  of  Massachusetts  in  the  matter.— Pennsylvania  ever  aftei 
opposes  a  General  Grand  Lodge. — WASHINGTON  afterwards  considered  ns 
General  Grand  Master. — Keceives  letters  as  such  from  Cape  Francois. — 
His  Masonic  medal. — Pennsylvania  Ahiman  Rezon  dedicated  to  him. — 
Copy  presented  to  him. — Military  Lodges  of  the  Revolution. — Lodges  in 
the  British  army. — Anecdotes  of. — Action  of  Kiog  -David's  Lodge  at 
Newport.— Capture  of  COBNWALLIS. — News  of  in  Philadelphia. — Death 
of  JOHN  PARZK  CUSTIS. — WASHINGTON  visits  his  mother. 

]T  the  close  of  1779,  WASHINGTON'S  head- 
quarters were  again  at  Morristown,  New 
Jersey,  where  they  had  been  during  the 
winter  of  1776-77.  Here  the  American 
Union  Lodge  was  again  at  work,  and  also 
various  other  military  lodges,  which  had  been  organ- 
ized in  the  American  army.  On  the  27th  of  December, 
the  American  Union  Lodge  met  to  celebrate  the  festi- 
val of  St.  John  the  Evangelist.  Besides  the  regular 
members  of  the  lodge  present,  the  record  shows  the 


WASHINGTON.  55 

names  of  sixty-eight  visiting  brethren,  one  of  whom 
was  WASHINGTON.  At  a  previous  meeting  of  this  lodge, 
held  on  the  15th  of  December,  its  records  show  that 
its  Master,  Major  JONATHAN  HABT,  was  appointed  one 
of  a  joint  committee  from  the  various  military  lodges 
in  the  army  "  to  take  into  consideration  some  matters 
for  the  good  of  Masonry."  At  the  festival  meeting  on 
the  27th,  "  a  petition  was  read,  representing  the  pres- 
ent state  of  Free-Masonry  to  the  several  Deputy 
Grand  Masters  in  the  United  States  of  America,  desir- 
ing them  to  adopt  some  measures  for  appointing  a 
Grand  Master  over  said  States."  It  was  ordered  that 
this  petition  be  circulated  through  the  different  lines 
of  the  army ;  and  also  "  that  a  committee  be  appointed 
from  the  different  lodges  in  the  army,  from  each  line, 
and  from  the  staff  of  the  army,  to  convene  on  the  first 
Monday  of  February  next,  at  Morristown,  to  take  the 
foregoing  petition  into  consideration."  This  committee 
accordingly  met  at  Morristown,  on  the  7th  day  of  Feb- 
ruary, 1780,  and  the  following  is  a  copy  of  its  pro- 
ceedings : 

"At  a  committee  of  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons, 
met  this  tth  day  of  the  second  month  in  the  year  of  Salva- 
tion, 1780,  according  to  the  recommendation  of  a  Convention 
Lodge,  held  at  the  celebration  of  St.  tFohn  the  Evangelist. 

"Present,  Brother  JOHN  PIERCE,  M.  M.,  delegated  to  repre- 
sent the  Masons  in  the  military  line  of  the  State  of  Mas- 
sachusetts Bay,  and  Washington  Lodge,  No.  10  ;  Brother 
JONATHAN  HART,  M.  M.,  delegated  to  represent  the  Masons  in 
the  military  line  of  the  State  of  Connecticut,  and  American 
Union  Lodge  ;  Brother  CHARLES  GRAHAM,  F.  C.,  delegated  to 
represent  the  Masons  in  the  military  line  of  the  State  of 


56  WASHINGTON. 

New  York  ;  Brother  JOHN  SANFORD,  M.  M.,  delegated  to  rep- 
resent the  Masons  in  the  military  line  of  the  State  of  New 
Jersey ;  Brother  GEORGE  TUDOR,  M.  M.,  delegated  to  repre- 
sent the  Masons  in  the  military  line  of  the  State  of  Pennsyl- 
vania ;  Brother  OTHO  HOLLAND  WILLIAMS,  M.  M.,  delegated  to 
represent  the  Masons  in  the  military  line  of  the  State  of 
Delaware;  Brother  MORDECAI  GIST,  P.  W.-M.,  delegated  to  rep- 
resent the  Masons  in  the  military  line  of  the  State  of  Mary- 
land ;  Brother  PRENTICE  BROWN,  M.  M.,  delegated  to  represent 
St.  John's  Regimental  Lodge  ;  Brother  JOHN  LAWRENCE,  P. 
W.  M.,  delegated  to  represent  the  brothers  in  the  staff  of 
the  American  army;  Brother  THOMAS  MACHIN,  M.  M.,  dele- 
gated to  represent  the  Masons  in  the  corps  of  artillery." 

The  -brothers  present  proceeded  to  elect  a  president 
and  secretary,  whereupon  Brother  MORDECAI  GIST  was 
unanimously  chosen  president,  and  Brother  OTHO  HOL- 
LAND WILLIAMS  unanimously  chosen  secretary  of  this 
committee. 

The  committee  proceeded  to  take  into  consideration 
an  address  to  be  preferred  to  the  Eight  Worshipful 
Grand  Masters  in  the  respective  United  States,  where- 
upon Brother  WILLIAMS  presented  the  following  ad- 
dress : 

"TO  THE  EIGHT  WORSHIPFUL, 

THE  GRAND  MASTERS    OF   THE    SEVERAL    LODGES   IX    THE    RESPECTIVE 

UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA. 
UNION.  FORCE.  LOVE. 

"  The  subscribers,  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  in 
convention,  to  you,  as  the  patrons  and  protectors  of  the 
craft  upon  this  continent,  prefer  their  humble  address. 

"Unhappily,  the  distinctions  of  interest,  the  political- views, 
and  national  disputes  subsisting  between  Great  Britain  ami 


WASHINGTON.  57 

these  United  States  have  involved  us,  not  only  in  the  gen- 
eral calamities  that  disturb  the  tranquillity  which  used  to 
prevail  in  this  once  happy  country,  but  in  a  peculiar  manner 
affects  our  society,  by  separating  us  from  the  Grand  Mother 
Lodge  in  Europe,  by  disturbing  our  connection  with  each 
other,  impeding  the  progress,  and  preventing  the  perfection 
of  Masonry  in  America. 

"We  deplore  the  miseries  of  our  countrymen,  and  par- 
ticularly lament  the  distresses  which  many  of  our  poor 
brethren  must  suffer,  as  well  from  the  want  of  temporal  re- 
lief, as  for  want  of  a  source  of  light  to  govern  their  pursuits 
and  illuminate  the  path  of  happiness.  And  we  ardently  de- 
sire to  restore,  if  possible,  that  fountain  of  charity,  from 
which,  to  the  unspeakable  benefit  of  mankind,  flows  benev- 
olence and  love :  considering  with  anxiety  these  disputes, 
and  the  many  irregularities  and  improprieties  committed  by 
weak  or  wicked  brethren,  which  too  manifestly  show  the 
present  dissipated  and  almost  abandoned  condition  of  our 
lodges  in  general,  as  well  as  the  relaxation  of  virtue  amongst 
individuals. 

"  We  think  it  our  duty,  Eight  Worshipful  Brothers  and 
Seniors  in  the  Craft,  to  solicit  your  immediate  interposition 
to  save  us  from  the  impending  dangers  of  schisms  and  apos- 
tasy. To  obtain  security  from  those  fatal  evils,  with  affec- 
tionate humility,  we  beg  leave  to  recommend  the  adopting 
and  pursuing  the  most  necessary  measures  for  establishing 
one  Grand  Lodge  in  America,  to  preside  over  and  govern 
all  other  lodges  of  whatsoever  degree  or  denomination, 
licensed  or  to  be  licensed  upon  the  continent ;  that  the  an- 
cient principles  and  discipline  of  Masonry  being  restored, 
we  may  mutually  and  universally  enjoy  the  advantages 
arising  from  frequent  communion  and  social  intercourse.  To 
accomplish  this  beneficial  and  essential  work,  permit  us  to 
propose  that  you,  the  Eight  Worshipful  Grand  Masters,  or 


58  WASHINGTON. 

a  majority  of  your  number,  may  nominate  as  Most  Worship- 
ful Grand  Master  of  said  lodge,  a  brother  whose  merit  and 
capacity  may  be  adequate  to  a  station  so  important  and 
elevated,  and  transmitting  the  name  and  nomination  of  such 
brother,  together  with  the  name  of  the  lodge  to  be  estab- 
lished, to  our  Grand  Mother  Lodge  in  Europe  for  approbation 
and  confirmation,  and  that  you  may  adopt  and  execute  any 
other  ways  or  means  most  eligible  for  preventing  imposi- 
tions, correcting  abuses,  and  for  establishing  the  general 
principles  of  Masonry,  that  the  influence  of  the  same  in 
propagating  morality  and  virtue  may  be  far  extended,  and 
that  the  lives  and  conversation  of  all  true  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons  may  not  only  be  the  admiration  of  men  on  earth, 
but  may  receive  the  final  approbation  of  the  Grand  Archi- 
tect of  the  Universe,  in  the  world  wherein  the  elect  enjoy 
eternal  light  and  love. 

"  Signed  in  convention,  at  Morristown,  Morris  County, 
this  7th  day  of  the  second  month,  in  the  year  of  our  Saviour 
1780,  Anno  Muudi,  5780.  Which  being  read,  was  unani- 
mously agreed  to  sign,  and  ordered  to  be  forwarded  with 
an  extra  copy  of  their  proceedings,  signed  by  the  president 
and  secretary,  to  the  respective  Provincial  Grand  Masters; 
and  the  committee  adjourned  without  day." 

There  were  Grand  Lodges  in  active  existence  in  but 
three  of  the  States  at  this  time — viz.,  Massachusetts, 
Pennsylvania,  and  Virginia ;  and  although  the  name  of 
WASHINGTON  for  General  Grand  Master  does  not  appear 
in  the  foregoing  petition  from  the  Masonic  convention 
in  the  army,  yet  it  was  formally  signified  to  these 
Grand  Lodges  that  he  was  their  choice.  The  events  of 
the  period  we  are  now  sketching  are  of  great  interest, 
not  only  in  the  Masonic  history  of  WASHINGTON,  but 
also  in  the  Masonic  history  of  our  country.  Our  rec- 


WASHINGTON.  59 

ords  show  that  the  action  of  the  brethren  in  the  army 
was  the  prelude  to  the  great  changes  that  were  soon 
wrought  in  the  polity  of  American  Masonry,  and  that 
he  was  first  in  the  hearts  of  Masons,  as  well  as  first  in 
the  hearts  of  his  countrymen.  Previous  to  the  recep- 
tion of  the  address  of  the  Army  Convention  by  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania,  but  while  these  pro- 
ceedings were  in  progress,  an  emergent  meeting  of  that 
grand  body  was  convened  at  Philadelphia,  on  the  13th 
of  January,  1780,  to  consider  the  propriety  of  appoint- 
ing a  General  Grand  Master  over  all  the  Grand  Lodges 
formed  or  to  be  formed  in  the  United  States ;  and  its 
records  show,  that 

"  The  ballot  was  put  upon  the  question  whether  it  be  for 
the  benefit  of  Masonry,  that  a  GRAND  MASTER  OF  MASONS 
throughout  the  United  States  shall  now  be  nominated  on 
the  part  of  this  Grand  Lodge  ;  and  it  was  unanimously 
determined  in  the  affirmative. 

"  Sundry  respectable  brethren  being  put  in  nomination, 
it  was  moved  that  the  ballot  be  put  for  them  separately, 
and  his  Excellency,  GEORGE  WASHINGTON,  Esq.,  general  and 
commander-in-chief  of  the  army  of  the  United  States,  being 
first  in  nomination,  he  was  balloted  for  as  Gr%nd  Master, 
and  elected  by  the  unanimous  vote  of  the  whole  lodge. 

"  Ordered,  that  the  minutes  of  this  election  and  appoint- 
ment be  transmitted  to  the  different  Grand  Lodges  in  the 
United  States,  and  their -concurrence  therein  be  requested, 
in  order  that  application  be  made  to  his  excellency  in  due 
form,  praying  that  he  will  do  the  brethren  and  Craft  tho 
honor  of  accepting  their  appointment." 

A  committee  was  chosen  to  expedite  the  business, 
and  to  inform  themselves  of  the  number  of  Grand 


60  WASHINGTON. 

Lodges  in  America,  and  the  names  of  their  officers, 
and  prepare  a  circular  letter  to  be  sent  them.  So  little 
was  known,  at  this  time,  by  the  Provincial  Grand  Lodges 
in  this  country  of  their  sister  Grand  Bodies  in  other 
States,  that  months  elapsed  before  the  necessary  in- 
formation came  before  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, on  which  to  act  in  carrying  out  the  resolution  of 
January  I3th,  relative  to  a  correspondence  in  relation 
to  the  appointment  of  a  General  Grand-  Master.  On 
the  27th  of  the  following  July,  having  learned  that 
there  was  a  Grand  Lodge  in  Virginia,  of  which  JOHN 
BLAIR  was  Grand  Master,  the  Grand  Secretary  was 
directed  to  write  to  Mr.  BLAIR  and  request  the  concur- 
rence of  that  Grand  Lodge  (if  Ancient  Masons)  in  the- 
appointment  of  General  WASHINGTON  as  Grand  M. 
General  of  Masons  in  America.  A  similar  letter  was 
also  directed  to  be  written  to  Colonel  WILLIAX  MAL- 
COLM, of  Fishkill,  New  York  ;  and  as  they  had  learned 
that  there  was  a  Grand  Lodge  at  work  in  Boston,  of 
which  Colonel  WILLLIM  PALFREY  was  a  member,  Colonel 
PROCTOR,  of  Philadelphia,  was  directed  to  confer  with 
him.  Having  made  these  preliminary  inquiries,  the 
Grand  Se^etary  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania 
addressed  the  following  letter  to  JOSEPH  WEBB,  Grand 
Master  of  the  Massachusetts  Grand  Lodge  : 

"PHILADELPHIA,  August  19,  1780. 
"  JOSEPH  WEBB,  Esq. : 

"  SIR — I  do  myself  the  honor  to  address  you,  by  orders 
from  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Ancient  York  Masons,  regularly 
constituted  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia.  This  Grand  Lodge 
has  under  its  jurisdiction,  in  Pennsylvania  and  the  States 


WASHINGTON.  61 

adjacent,  thirty-one  different  regular  lodges,  containing  in 
the  whole  more  than  one  thousand  brethren.  Inclosed,  you 
have  a  printed  abstract  of  some  of  our  late  proceedings ;  and 
by  that  of  January  13th  last,  you  will  observe  that  we  have, 
so  far  as  depends  on  us,  done  that  honor  which  we  think 
due  to  our  illustrious  brother,  General  WASHINGTON — viz., 
electing  him  Grand  Master  over  all  the  Grand  Lodges 
formed,  or  to  be  formed,  in  these  United  States  ;  not  doubt- 
ing of  the  concurrence  of  all  the  Grand  Lodges  in  America 
to  make  this  election  effectual. 

"  We  have  been  informed  by  Colonel  PALFREY  that  there 
is  a.  Grand  Lodge  of  Ancient  York  Masons  in  the  State  of 
Massachusetts,  and  that  you  are  Grand  Master  thereof.  As 
such,  I  am,  therefore,  to  request  that  you  will  lay  our  pro- 
ceedings before  your  Grand  Lodge,  and  request  their  con- 
current voice  in  the  appointment  of  General  WASHINGTON,  as 
set  forth  in  the  minutes  of  January  13th,  which,  as  far  as  we 
have  been  able  to  learn,  is  a  measure  highly  approved  by  all 
the  brethren,  and  that  will  do  honor  to  the  Craft. 

"WILLIAM  SMITH, 

"  Grand  Secretary." 

To  this,  Mr.  WEBB  returned  the  following  answer : 

"  BOSTON,  September  4,  1780. 

"  SIR — Your  agreeable  favor  of  the  19th  ult.  I  duly  re- 
ceived on  the  31st,  covering  a  printed  abstract  of  the  pro- 
ceedings of  your  Grand  Lodge.  I  had  received  one  near  three 
months  before,  from  the  Master  of  a  travelling  lodge  of  the 
Connecticut  line  ;  but  the  evening  after  I  received  yours,  it 
being  Grand  Lodge,  I  laid  it  before  them,  and  had  some  de- 
bate on  it.  Whereupon  it  was  agreed  to  adjourn  the  lodge 


C2  WASHINGTON. 

for  three  weeks,  to  the  22d  inst.:  likewise,  to  write  to  all 
the  lodges  in  this  jurisdiction  to  attend  themselves,  if  con- 
venient, by  their  Masters  and  Wardens  ;  and  if  not,  to  give 
instruction  to  their  proxies  here  concerning  their  acqui- 
escence in  the  proposal. 

"  I  am  well  assured  that  no  one  can  have  any  objection 
to  so  illustrious  a  person  as  General  WASHINGTON  to  preside 
as  Grand  Master  of  the  United  States;  but  at  the  same  time 
it  will  be  necessary  to  know  from  you  his  prerogatives  as 
such ;  whether  he  is  to  appoint  Sub-Grand  or  Provincial 
Grand  Masters  of  each  State.  If  so,  I  am  confident  that  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  this  State  will  never  give  up  their  right  of 
electing  their  own  Grand  Masters  and  other  officers  annu- 
ally. This  induces  me  to  write  to  you  now,  before  the  re- 
sult of  the  Grand  Lodge  takes  place ;  and  I  must  beg  an 
answer  by  the  first  opportunity,  that  I  may  be  enabled  to 
lay  the  same  before  them.  I  have  not  heard  of  any  States, 
except  this  and  yours,  that  have  proceeded  as  yet,  since  the 
independence,  to  elect  their  officers,  but  I  have  been  hoping 
they  would.  I  do  not  remember  of  more  Grand  Masters 
being  appointed  when  we  were  under  the  British  govern- 
ment, than  in  South  Carolina,  North  Carolina,  Pennsylvania, 
New  York,  and  Massachusetts ;  but  now  it  may  be  ne- 
cessary. 

"  I  have  granted  a  dispensation  to  New  Hampshire,  till 
they  shall  appoint  a  Grand  Master  of  their  own,  which  I 
suppose  will  not  be  very  soon,  as  there  is  but  one  lodge  in 
that  State.  Inclosed,  I  send  you  a  list  of  the  officers  of  our 
Grand  Lodge,  and  have  the  honor  to  be, 

"  With  great  respect  and  esteem, 

"  Your  affectionate  brother  and 

"Humble  servant, 

"Jos.  WEBB,  G.  M.» 


WASHINGTON.  63 

This  communication  was  laid  before  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  Pennsylvania,  at  a  special  Grand  Communication,  on 
the  16th  of  October ;  and  a  committee,  consisting  of 
Colonel  PALFREY  and  the  Grand  Secretary,  Dr.  WIL- 
LIAM SMITH,  was  appointed  to  prepare  an  answer  ;  and 
they  laid  the  same  before  the  Grand  Body  on  the  fol- 
lowing evening,  to  which  it  adjourned.  The  following 
is  a  copy : 

"PHILADELPHIA,  October  17,  1780. 
"  JOSEPH  WEBB,  Esq. : 

"  EESPECTED  SIR,  AND  RIGHT  WORSHIPFUL  BROTHER — Your 
kind  and  interesting  letters  of  the  4th  and  19th  ult.,  by  some 
delay  in  the  Post-Office,  came  both  to  my  hands  together, 
and  that  not  before  the  10th  inst.  They  were  both  read 
and  maturely  considered  at  a  very  full  Grand*  Lodge  last 
evening;  and  I  have  it  in  charge  to  thank  you,  and  all  the 
worthy  members  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Massachusetts,  for 
the  brotherly  notice  they  were  pleased  to  take  of  the  prop- 
osition communicated  to  you  from  the  Grand  Lodge  of  this 
State. 

"We  are  happy  to  find  that  you  agree  with  us  in  tlit 
necessity  of  having  one  complete  Masonic  jurisdiction 
under  some  one  Grand  Head  throughout  the  United  States. 
It  has  been  a  measure  long  wished  for  among  the  brethren, 
especially  in  the  army;  and  from  them  the  request  came 
originally  to  us,  that  we  might  improve  the  opportunity, 
which  our  central  situation  gave  us,  of-  setting  the  measure 
.on  foot.  From  these  considerations,  joined  to  an  earnest 
desire  of  advancing  and  doing  honor  to  Masonry,  and  not 
from  any  affected  superiority,  or  of  dictating  to  any  of  our 
brethren,  we  put  in  -nomination  for  Grand  Master  over  all 
these  States  (and  elected  so  far  as  depended  on  us)  one  of 


64:  WASHINGTON. 

the  most  illustrious  of  our  brethren,  whose  character  doea 
honor  to  the  whole  Fraternity,  and  who,  we  are  therefore 
persuaded,  would  be  wholly  unexceptionable.  When  our 
proposition  and  nomination  should  be  communicated  to  other 
Grand  Lodges,  and  ratified  by  their  concurrence,  then,  and 
not  before,  it  was  proposed  to  define  the  powers  of  sucli  a 
Grand  Master  General,  and  to  fix  articles  of  Masonic  union 
among  the  Grand  Lodges,  by  means  of  a  convention  of  com- 
mittees from  the  different  Grand  Lodges,  to  be  held  at  such 
time  and  place  as  might  be  agreed  upon.  Such  convention 
may  also  have  powers  to  notify  the  Grand  Master  General 
of  his  election,  present  him  with  his  diploma,  badges  of 
office,  and  install  with  due  form  and  ceremony. 

"  To  you  who  are  so  well  learned  in  the  Masonic  Art,  and 
acquainted  with  its  history,  it  needs  not  to  be  observed  that 
one  Grand  Master  General  over  many  Grand  Lodges,  hav- 
ing each  their  own  Grand  Master,  is  no  novel  institution : 
even  if  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  the  Grand  Lodges  in 
America,  now  separated  from  the  jurisdiction  from  whence 
they  originated,  did  not  render  it  necessary.  We  have  also 
a  very  recent  magnificent  example  of  the  same  thing  in 
Europe,  which  may  serve,  in  respect  to  the  ceremonies  of 
installation,  as  a  model  for  us.  I  will  copy  the  paragraph 
as  dated,  at  Stockholm,  in  Sweden,  the  21st  of  March  last, 
as  you  may  not  have  seen  it. 

"'The  19th  of  this  month  (March,  1780)  will  always  be 
a  remarkable  day  to  the  Free  Masons  established  in  this 
Kingdom,  for  on  that  day  the  Duke  of  Sundermania  was 
installed  Grand  Master  of  all  the  lodges  throughout  this 
Kingdom,  as  well  as  those  in  St.  Petersburg,  Copenhagen, 
Brunswick,  Hamburg,  etc.  The  lodge  at  St.  Petersburg 
had  sent  a  deputy  for  this  purpose,  and  others  had  intrusted 
the  diploma  of  instalment  to  Baron  Leganbrepud,  who 


WASHINGTON.  65 

been  last  year  to  Copenhagen   and  Germany  on  this  ne- 
gotiation. 

" '  The  instalment  was  attended  with  great  pomp.  The 
assembly  was  composed  of  more  than  four  hundred  mem: 
bers,  and  was  honored  with  the  presence  of  the  king,  who 
was  pleased  to  grant  a  charter  to  the  lodge,  taking  it  under 
his  rojTal  direction,  at  the  same  time  investing  the  new 
Grand  Master  with  an  ermine  cloak ;  after  which  he  was 
placed  upon  a  throne,  clothed  with  the  marks  of  his  new 
dignity,  and  there  received  the  compliments  of  all  the  mem- 
bers, who,  according  to  their  rank,  were  admitted  to  kiss 
the  hand,  sceptre,  and  cloak  of  the  new  Grand  Master,  and 
had  delivered  to  them  a  silver  medal,  struck  to  perpetuate 
the  memory  of  this  solemnity,  which  passed  in  Exchange 
Hall.  It  is  said  that  the  king  will  grant  revenues  for  the 
commanders,  and  that  this  Koyal  Lodge  will  receive  each 
year  an  annual  tribute.  This  solemnity  hath  raised  the  or- 
der of  Free  Masons  from  a  kind  of  oblivion  into  which  they 
were  sunk.' 

"  What  the  particular  authorities  of  the  Grand  Master  of 
the  United  States  were  to  be,  we  had  not  taken  upon  us  to 
describe,  but,  as  before  hinted,  had  left  them  to  be  settled 
by  a  convention  of  Grand  Lodges  or  their  deputies.  But 
this  is  certain,  that  we  never  intended  the  different  Pro- 
vincial or  State  Grand  Lodges,  should  be  deprived  of  the 
election  of  their  own  Grand  Officers,  or  any  of  their  just 
Masonic  rights  and  authorities  over  the  different  lodges 
within  the  bounds  of  their  jurisdiction. 

"But  when  new  lodges  are  to  be  created  beyond  the 
bounds  of  any  legal  Grand  Lodge  now  existing,'  such  lodges 
are  to  have  their  warrants  from  the  Grand  Master  General. 
And  when  such  lodges  become  a  number  sufficient  to  be 
fanned  into  a  Grand  Lodge,  the  bounds  of  such  Grand 


6tf  WASHINGTON. 

Lodge  are  to  be  described,  and  Hie  warrants  be  granted 
by  the  General  Grand  Master  aforesaid  ;  who  may  also  call 
and  preside  in  a  convention  of  Grand  Lodges,  when  any 
matter  of  great  or  general  importance  to  the  whole  United 
Fraternity  of  these  United  States  may  require  it.  What 
other  powers  may  be  given  to  the  Grand  Master  General, 
and  how  such  powers  are  to  be  drawn  up  and  expressed, 
will  be  the  business  of  the  convention  proposed. 

"  For  want  of  some  general  Masonic  authority  over  all 
these  United  States,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania,  ex 
necessitate,  have  granted  warrants  beyond  its  bounds,  to 
Delaware  and  Maryland  States  ;  and  you  have  found  it  ex- 
pedient to  do  the  same,  in  New  Hampshire  :  but  we  know 
that  necessity  alone  can  be  the  plea  for  this. 

"By  what  has  been  said  above,  you  will  see  that  our 
idea  is  to  have  a  General  Grand  Master  over  all  the  United 
States,  and  each  lodge  under  him  to  preserve  its  own  rights, 
jurisdiction,  etc.,  as  formerly  under  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Great  Britain,  from  whence  the  Grand  Lodges  of  America 
had  derived  their  Warrants,  and  to  have  this  new  Masonic 
Constitution,  and  the  powers  of  the  General  Grand  Master, 
fixed  by  a  convention  aforesaid. 

"  Others,  we  are  told,  have  proposed  that  there  be  one 
Grand  Master  over  all  the  States,  and  that  the  other  Masters 
of  Grand  Lodges,  whether  nominated  by  him,  or  chosen  by 
their  own  Grand  Lodges,  should  be  considered  as  his  depu- 
ties. But  we  have  the  same  objection  to  this  that  you  have, 
and  never  had  any  idea  of  establishing  such  a  plan,  as  has 
been  suggested  before. 

"  This  letter  is  now  swelled  to  a  great  length.  We  have, 
therefore,  only  to  submit  two  things  to  your  deliberation  : 
1st.  Either,  whether  it  would  be  best  to  make  your  election 
of  a  General  Grand  Master  immediately,  and  then  propose 


WASHINGTON.  67 

to  us  a  time  and  place  where  a  committee  from  your  body 
could  meet  a  committee  from  ours  to  fix  his  powers  and 
proceed  to  instalment;  or,  2d.  Whether x  you  will  first  ap- 
point a  place  of  meeting-,  and  the  powers  of  the  proposed 
Grand  Master  j  then  return  home  arid  proceed  to  the  elec- 
ion,  and  afterwards  meet  anew  for  instalment.  This  last 
mode  would  seem  to  require  too  much  time,  and  would  not 
be  so  agreeable  to  our  worthy  brethren  in  the  army,  who  are 
anxious  to  have  this  matter  completed. 

"  As  you  will  probably  choose  the  first  mode,  could  not 
the  place  of  meeting  be  at,  or  near,  the  headquarters  of  the 
army,  at,  or  soon  after,  St.  John's-day  next  ?  At  any  rate, 
you  will  not  fix  a  place  far  northward,  on  account  of  some 
brethren  from  Virginia  who  will  attend.  For  we  propose  to 
advertise  the  business,  and  the  time  and  place  of  meeting, 
in  the  public  papers,  that  any  regular  Grand  Lodges  which 
we  in  ay  not  have  heard  of,  may  have  an  opportunity  of 
sending  representatives.  Your  answer,  as  soon  as  possible, 
is  requested,  under  cover  to  PETER  BAYNTER,  Postmaster  of 
Philadelphia. 

"  I  arn,  etc.,  by  order, 

"  WILLIAM  SMITH, 

"  Grand  Secretary." 

The  Grand  Lodge  of  Massachusetts  having  submit- 
ted the  consideration  of  the  matter  to  her  subordi- 
nates, one  of  her  lodges  at  Machias,  in  Maine,  passed 
the  following  resolutions,  as  shown  by  this  record. 

"  At  a  meeting  of  Warren  Lodge,  held  at  Machias,  Maine, 
October  31,  1780,  the  subject  of  appointing  a  General  Grand 
Master  of  all  the  United  States  was  proposed,  and  the  fol- 
lowing resolutions  were*  adopted  : 


68  WASHINGTON. 

"First,  That  it  will  be  for  the  advancement  of  Masonry, 
that  a  Grand  Master  of  Masons  be  appointed  throughout 
the  United  States  of  America. 

"  Second,  That  the  said  Grand  Master  be  chosen  annually 
on  the  feast  of  St.  John  the  Baptist,  by  a  majority  of  the 
Grand  Lodges  throughout  the  United  States  of  America,  or 
at  such  other  time  as  they  shall  judge  necessary. 

"Third,  That  the  said  Grand  Master  shall  have  no  power 
but  what  shall,  from  time  to  time,  be  delegated  to  him  by  a 
majority  of  the  Grand  Lodges  throughout  the  United  States 
of  America. 

"Fourth,  That  the  said  Grand  Master  call  a  convention  of 
all  the  Grand  Lodges  in  the  United  States,  within  three 
months  after  his  election,  at  such  place  as  he  shall  judge 
most  conducive  to  the  good  of  the  Craft;  such  convention  to 
consist  of  one  person  chosen  from  each  Grand  Lodge. 

"Fifth,  That  the  Grand  Master  sit  as  president  of  the 
convention,  to  examine  into  any  abuses  tliat  may  have  crept 
into  Masonry,  and  rectify  the  same,  examine  the  Book  of 
Constitutions,  abrogate,  make,  or  alter  laws,  if  they  shall 
judge  necessary,  and  lay  their  proceedings  before  the  Grand 
Lodges  for  their  approbation. 

"  Sixth,  That  his  Excellency  General  GEORGE  WASHINGTON 
be  General  Grand  Master  of  Masons  throughout  the  United 
States  of  America. 

"  The  Right  Worshipful  Master  and  Wardens  are  directed 
to  write  to  our  representatives  in  the  Grand  Lodge,  inform- 
ing them  of  our  resolutions." 

The  Grand  Lodge  of  Massachusetts,  however,  hav- 
ing more  fully  considered  the  subject,  thought  the 
election  of  a  General  Grand  Master  of  the  United 
States,  at  that  time,  premature  and  inexpedient,  and 


WASHINGTON.  69 

ordered  the  following  resolution  of  their  Grand  Body 
to  be  sent  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania. 

"BOSTON,  January  9,  1781. 

"  As  the  Grand  Lodge  have  not  been  acquainted  with  the 
opinions  of  the  various  Grand  Lodges  in  the  United  States, 
respecting  the  choice  of  a  Grand  Master  General,  and  the 
circumstances  of  our  public  affairs  making  it  impossible 
we  should  at  present  obtain  their  sentiments  upon  it,  there- 
fore, voted,  That  no  determination  upon  the  subject  could, 
with  the  propriety  and  justice  due  to  the  Craft  at  large,  be 
made  by  this  Grand  Lodge,  until  a  general  peace  shall  hap- 
pily take  place  throughout  the  continent. 

"  From  the  Grand  Lodge  records, 

"Wii.  HASKINS,  Secretary." 

This  correspondence  with  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Mas- 
sachusetts was  the  last  effort  made  by  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Pennsylvania  to  establish  a  General  Amer- 
ican Head  over  all  the  lodges  in  this  country ;  and  in 
later  times,  when  the  project  has  been  advocated  by 
other  Grand  Bodies,  her  voice  has  been  invariably 
against  it.  From  her  action  in  1780  arose,  undoubt- 
edly, the  wide-spread  appellation  of  the  title  of  General 
Grand  Master  to  WASHINGTON, — an  historical  error, 
which  has  not  yet  been  eradicated  in  the  minds  of  all 
Masons.  There  is  no  doubt  that  in  the  minds  of  all 
his  Masonic  compeers,  after  the  independence  of  this 
country  was  attained,  he  was  justly  regarded  as  the 
GKEAT  PATRON  OF  THE  FRATERNITY  IN  AMERICA,  which 
led  many  to  believe,  at  the  time  of  his  death,  and  long 
after,  that  he  had  held  official  rank  as  GENERAL  GRAND 
MASTER. 


70 


WASHINGTON. 


Nor  was  WASHINGTON'S  fame  as  a  Mason,  or  tlie  be- 
lief that  lie  was  General  flfcand  Master,  confined  to  this 
country ;  for,  in  1786,  two  letters  in  French  were  ad- 
dressed to  him,  from  Cape  Francois,  as- "  Grand  Master 
of  America"  soliciting  a  lodge-warrant  for  brethren  on 
that  island;  which  letters  WASHINGTON  caused  to  be 
laid  before  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania,  and  they 
accordingly  granted  the  warrant.  A  venerable  brother 
in  Virginia  also  informs  us  that  his  father,  who  was  a 
Mason  in  Scotland,  emigrated  to  this  country  soon 
after  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  War ;  and  that  ho 
had  often  heard  him  say,  that  his  Masonic  brethren  in 
Scotland  congratulated  him,  when  he  left,  on  the  ad- 
vantages and  protection  he  would  enjoy  from  Ma- 
sonry in  this  country,  as  General  WASHINGTON  they 
said  was  Grand  Master  of  Masons  here.  This  illusion 


WASHINGTON   MASONIC   MEDAL,   1797. 


was  also  perpetuated  by  a  Masonic  medal,  which  was 
struck  in  1797,  having  on  its  obverse  side  the  bust  of 
WASHINGTON  in  military  dress,  with  its  legend,  "G. 
WASHINGTON,  PKESIDENT,  1797 ;"  and  on  its  reverse  side, 
the  emblems  of  Masonry,  surrounded  by  the  inscription, 


WASHINGTON, 


71 


"  AMOR,  HONOR,  ET  JUSTICIA,"  and  the  initials,  "G.  W., 
G.  G.  M." 

Although  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania  did  not 
succeed  in  creating  a  General  Grand  Mastership,  and 
elevating  WASHINGTON  to  that  office,  as  was  her  desire, 
and  also  that  of  the  Military  Lodges  of  the  army,  from 
whom  the  proposition  first  sprang,  yet  that  Grand 
Body  still  continued  to  regard  him  as  first  among 


ARM8   OF   TIIK  FREEMASONS. 

American  Masons.  At  her  first  meeting  for  reorgani- 
zation, after  the  British  troops  evacuated  Philadelphia, 
she  had  appointed  a  committee,  of  which  the  Eev.  Dr. 
WM.  SMITH  was  chairman,  to  prepare  a  new  Book  of 
Constitutions.  Dr.  SMITH  accordingly  digested  and 


72 


WASHINGTON. 


abridged  the  English  Book  of  Constitutions  used  by 
the  Ancient  York  Masons ;  and  on  the  22  J  of  Novem- 
ber, 1781,  submitted  to  the  Grand  Lodge  the  result  of 
his  labors,  which  was  a  Book  of  Constitutions,  &c., 
which  has  since  been  known  as  "  SMITH'S  Ahiman 


Rezon."  It  was  approved  and  unanimously  adopted 
at  that  meeting,  and  ordered  to  be  printed,  with  the 
Masons'  coat  of  arms  as  a  frontispiece ;  and  the  Grand 
Lodge  further  resolved,  "In  case  our  beloved  and 
illustrious  brother  General  WASHINGTON  permit  it  to 


"WASHINGTON.  73 

be  dedicated  to  him,  tliat  his  Excellency's  arms  be 
prefixed  to  the  dedication."  At  a  meeting  of  the 
Grand  Lodge,  in  December,  1782,  it  was  further  re- 
solved that  Dr.  SMITH'S  Masonic  sermon  and  prayer, 
which  had  been  delivered  in  presence  of  WASHINGTON, 
on  the  28th  of  December,  1778,  should  also  be  pub- 
lished in  the  work.  The  book  was  printed  in  1783, 
with  the  following  dedication,  but  WASHINGTON'S  coat 
of  arms  was  not  inserted  : 


"To  IIis  EXCELLENCY  GEORGE  WASHINGTON,  ESQ., 

"  General  and  Commander-in- Chief  of  the  Armies  of 

the  United  States  of  America : 

"  In  testimony,  as  well  of  his  exalted  services  to  his 
country,  as  of  that  noble  philanthropy  which  distinguishes 
him  among  Masons,  the  following  Constitutions  of  thet  most 
ancient  and  honorable  fraternity  of  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons,  by  order  and  in  behalf  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Penn- 
sylvania, etc.,  is  dedicated,  by  his  Excellency's  most  humble 
servant  and  faithful  brother, 

"  WILLIAM  SMITH,  G.  Secretary. 

"  June  24,  1782." 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  held  on  the  lOth 
of  June,  1787,  it  was  ordered  that  the  Eight  Worship- 
ful Grand  Master  and  Deputy  Grand  Master  present 
to  General  WASHINGTON  a,  copy  of  this  Book  of  Consti- 
tutions ;  and  in  an  inventory  of  his  library,  made  by  the 
appraisers  of  his  estate  after  his  death,  this  book  ap- 
pears in  the  schedule. 

The  Military  Lodges  of  the  Eevolution  should  not  be 
forgotten,  in  a  just  tribute  to  the  memory  of  WASHING- 

4 


74  WASHINGTON. 

TON.  There  were  ten  of  these  instituted  in  the  Amer- 
ican army,  in  the  following  order,  and  by  the  following 
authorities : 

1st.  St.  John's  Eegimental  Lodge,  in  the  United 
States  Battalion,  July  24,  ]  775,  by  the  old  Provin- 
cial Grand  Lodge  of  New  York  (Moderns). 

2d.  American  Union  Lodge,  in  the  Connecticut  line, 
February  15,  1776,  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Massachu- 
setts (Moderns). 

3d.  No.  19,  on  the  Pennsylvania  Grand  Lodge  Reg- 
istry, in  the  first  regiment  of  Pennsylvania  artillery, 
May  18,  1779,  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania 
(Ancients). 

4th.  Washington  Lodge,  in  the  Massachusetts  line, 
October  6,  1779,  by  the  Massachusetts  Grand  Lodge 
(Ancients). 

5th.  No.  20,  on  the  Pennsylvania  Grand  Lodge  Reg- 
istry, in  a  North  Carolina  regiment,  -  -  1779,  by  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania  (Ancients). 

6th.  No.  27,  on  the  Pennsylvania  Grand  Lodge  Reg- 
istry, in  the  Maryland  line,  April  4,  1780,  by  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania  (Ancients). 

7th.  No.  28,  on  the  Pennsylvania  Grand  Lodge  Reg- 
istry, in  the  Pennsylvania  line,  —  — 1780,  by  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Pennsylvania  (Ancients). 

8th.  No.  29,  on  the  Pennsylvania  Grand  Lodge  Reg- 
istry, in  the  Pennsylvania  line,  July  27,  1780,  by  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania  (Ancients). 

9th.  No.  31,  on  the  Pennsylvania  Grand  Lodge  Reg- 
istry, in  the  New  Jersey  line,  March  26,  1781,  by  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania  (Ancients). 

10th.  No.  36,  on  the  Pennsylvania  Grand  Lodge  Reg- 


WASHINGTON.  75 

istry,  in  the  New  Jersey  line,  September  2,  1782,  by 
the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania  (Ancients). 

Masonic  records,  and  the  concurrent  testimony  of 
WASHINGTON'S  compeers,  both  show  that  while  com- 
mander-in-chief  of  the  American  revolutionary  army 
he  countenanced  the  establishment  and  encouraged 
the  labors  of  these  Military  Lodges,  wisely  considering 
them  as  schools  of  urbanity,  well  calculated  to  dissem- 
inate those  mild  virtues  of  the  heart,  so  ornamental  to 
human  character,  and  particularly  useful  to  correct  the 
ferocity  of  soldiers,  and  alleviate  the  miseries  of  war. 
The  cares  of  his  high  office  engrossed  too  much  of  his 
time  to  admit  of  his  engaging  in  the  duties  of  the 
chair;  yet  he  found  frequent  opportunities  to  visit 
these  lodges,  and  thought  it  no  degradation  to  his  dig- 
niiy  to  stand  there  on  a  level  with  his  brethren.* 

There  were  many  Masonic  Lodges  also  connected 
with  the  British  army  during  this  period,  and  on  sev- 
eral occasions  the  warrant  and  other  property  of  such 
lodges  were  captured  by  American  troops,  but  in  each 
case  they  were  promptly  returned.  One  of  these  lodges 
was  No.  227,  on  the  registry  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Ireland,  which  has  claimed  that  WASHINGTON  was  made 
a  Mason  in  it  during  the  old  French  War.  The  "  Lon- 
don Freemasons'  Magazine!'1  states,  "  during  the  Revo- 
lution, its  lodge-chest  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Amer- 
icans ;  they  reported  the  circumstance  to  General 
WASHINGTON,  who  embraced  the  opportunity  of  testify- 
ing his  estimation  of  Masonry  in  the  most  marked  and 
gratifying  manner,  by  directing  a  guard  of  honor,  un- 

*  See  BIGELOW'S  address  on  tlie  death  of  WASHINGTON. 


76  WASHINGTON. 

der  a  distinguished  officer,  should  take  charge  of  the 
chest,  with  many  articles  of  value,  and  return  them  to 
the  regiment.  The  surprise,  the  feeling  of  both  officers 
and  men,  may  be  imagined,  when  they  perceived  the 
flag  of  truce  that  announced  this  elegant  compliment 
from  their  noble  opponent,  but  still  more  noble  brother. 
The  guard  of  honor,  with  their  flutes  playing  a  sacred 
march,  the  chest  containing  the  constitution  and  imple- 
ments of  the  craft,  borne  aloft,  like  another  Ark  of  the 
Covenant,  equally  by  Englishmen  and  Americans,  who, 
lately  engaged  in  the  strife  of  war,  now  marched  through 
the  enfiladed  ranks  of  the  gallant  regiment,  that  with 
presented  arms  and  colors  hailed  the  glorious  act  by 
cheers,  which  the  sentiment  rendered  sacred  as  the 
hallelujahs  of  an  angel's  song." 

On  another  occasion,  "  during  the  war  of  the  Revolu- 
tion, while  the  army  was  encamped  in  New  Jersey,  a 
party  of  American  troops  was  sent  out  on  a  foraging 
expedition,  and  on  their  way  fell  in  with  a  number  of 
British  soldiers,  who  had  been  placed  as  a  guard  over 
some  baggage  which  was  being  removed  to  a  distant 
place.  A  skirmish  ensued,  they  were  taken  prisoners, 
and  with  their  baggage  removed  to  the  American 
army.  On  an  examination  of  the  baggage,  a  Templar's 
sash  and  Master's  apron  were  found,  which  excited 
some  surprise  among  the  soldiers,  and  were  immediate- 
ly carried  to  the  tent  of  the  commander-in-chief.  As 
soon  as  his  eye  fell  upon  them,  he  gave  instructions 
that  the  baggage  should  be  carefully  protected  from  all 
injury,  that  inquiries  should  be  made  after  the  owner 
of  these  articles,  and  if  found,  that  he  be  requested  to 
repair  immediately  to  his  tent. 


WASHINGTON.  77 

"  He  soon  made  his  appearance.  Kind  words  and  friend- 
ly  greetings  attended  his  reception.  He  was  treated  with 
the  utmost  care  while  a  prisoner,  and  was  soon  after  sent 
home  to  England  on  parole,  attended  by  all  the  comforts 
and  conveniences  which  it  was  possible  to  bestow  upon 
him  in  those  times  of  trouble.  This  person  was  Sergeant 
KELLY  of  the  British  army,  who,  after  his  arrival  home,  lived 
to  a  good  old  age,  and  preserved  that  sash  and  apron  with 
the  greatest  care.  On  his  dying  bed,  surrounded  by  his 
kindred — and  among  the  number  was  an  old  and  tried  friend, 
who  was  a  brother  Mason — he  ordered  the  sash  and  apron  to 
be  produced,  and  calling  his  old  friend  and  brother  to  his 
siie,  exacted  from  him  a  promise,  to  forward,  after  his  death, 
the  same  to  Montgomery  Lodge,  in  the  city  of  New  York, 
with  an  accompanying  letter,  stating  it  to  be  a  memento  to 
the  fraternity,  of  the  kindness  and  fraternal  regard  of 
GEORGE  WASHINGTON  towards  an  humble  brother  and  a 
stranger  ;  and  as  a  testimonial  that  '  the  memory  of  the 
just  is  blessed,  and  shall  live  and  flourish  like  the  green 
bay-tree.'  These  relics  were  presented  to  Montgomery 
Lodge  in  1838,  where  they  now  remain,  and  are  preserved 
with  care."  * 

A  military  alliance  with  France  had  been  formed  in 
1778,  by  which  auxiliary  French  troops  were  sent 
to  America;  and  early  in  1781,  WASHINGTON  visited 
Khode  Island  to  confer  with  the  French  commander 
on  the  approaching  campaign.  A  lodge  existed  there, 
known  as  King  David's  Lodge,  whose  warrant  had 
been  granted  by  GEOEGE  HAEEISON,  Provincial  Grand 
Master  of  New  York,  to  MOSES  M.  HAYS,  a  Jewish  citi- 

*  See  FOLGER'S  address,  Novembei  4,  1853,  before  Benevolent 
Lodge,  New  York. 


78  WASHINGTON. 

zen  of  New  York  city,  bearing  date  February  17,  1769, 
empowering  him  to  hold  a  lodge  in  that  city.  This 
warrant  he  had  taken  to  Khode  Island  in  1780,  and 
was  then  holding  a  lodge  under  it  in  Newport.  Hay- 
ing learned  that  WASHINGTON  was  daily  expected  there, 
this  lodge,  upon  the  7th  of  February,  1781,  appointed 
a  committee,  consisting  of  Mr.  HAYS  and  others,  for  the 
purpose  of  preparing  an  address,  in  behalf  of  the  lodge, 
to  present  to  him.  At  a  meeting  of  the  lodge,  held  at 
the  request  of  the  Master,  February  14th,  this  com- 
mittee reported,  "  That,  on  inquiry,  they  find  General 
WASHINGTON  not  to  be  a  Grand  Master  of  North 
America,  as  was  supposed,  nor  even  Master  of  any 
particular  lodge;  they  are  therefore  of  opinion,  that 
this  lodge  would  not  choose  to  address  him  as  a  private 
brother,  and  at  the  same  time  they  think  it  would  not 
be  agreeable  to  our  worthy  brother  to  be  addressed  as 
such."  The  lodge  therefore  voted  that  the  address 
be  entirely  laid  aside  for  the  present. 

The  campaign  of  this  year  is  ever  memorable  for  the 
capture  of  CORNWALLIS  at  Yorktown.  "  In  that  village," 
says  the  Honorable  EOBEKT  G.  SCOTT,  of  Virginia,  "was 
Lodge  No.  9,  where,  after  the  siege  had  ended,  WASH- 
INGTON, LA  FAYETTE,  MARSHALL,  and  NELSON  came  to- 
gether, and  by  their  union  bore  abiding  testimony  to 
the  beautiful  tenets  of  Masonry."* 

The  surrender  of  CORNWALLIS  was  a  day  of  jubilee  in 
the  American  army,  and  WASHINGTON  ordered  all  offend- 
ers in  the  camp  who  were  under  arrest,  to  be  par- 

*  See  Brother  SCOTT'S  address  at  laying  the  corner-stone  of  the 
Washington  Monument  at  Richmond,  This  statement  we  have  been 
unable  to  verify. 


WASHINGTON.  79 

doned  and  set  at  liberty.  He  also  acknowledged  an 
overruling  Providence  in  their  success,  by  directing 
that  divine  services  should  be  held  in  the  army,  and 
public  acknowledgments  rendered  to  GOD  for  his  signal 
interposition  in  their  behalf.  But  it  was  not  the  army 
alone  that  gave  way  to  joy  and  thanksgiving  on  this  oc- 
casion, for  the  whole  country  was  jubilant.  "  The  news 
of  the  surrender,"  says  a  writer  of  that  day,  "  reached 
Philadelphia  between  one  and  two  o'clock  at  night.  The 
watchman  in  those  days  were  in  the  habit  of  calling 
the  hour.  They  were  all  Germans,  and  the  welkin  re- 
sounded— '  Oh,  bast  two  o'clock;  imc?CoBNWALLis  is  taken  f 
Windows  were  thrown  up  by  ladies  in  night-caps  to 
catch  the  sound,  and  forthwith  every  house  was  illu- 
minated." Congress  also  appointed  a  day  of  national 
thanksgiving,  and  voted  thanks  and  other  testimonials 
to  WASHINGTON  and  his  officers. 

But  while  the  heart  of  America  beat  wildly  with  joy 
on  this  occasion,  that  of  WASHINGTON  was  smitten  with 
grief  by  a  deep  domestic  affliction ;  for  he  was  com- 
pelled to  hasten  from  the  field  of  his  recent  triumph  to 
Eltham,  a  few  miles  distant,  to  attend  the  deathbed  of  his 
stepson,  JOHN  PAKKE  CUSTIS,  the  only  remaining  one  of 
the  two  children  of  his  wife  at  the  time  of  his  marriage. 
WASHINGTON,  who  had  never  had  children  or  his  own, 
had  loved  these  with  all  a  parent's  fondness.  The 
daughter  had  died  just  before  the  war,  and  his  grief  on 
that  occasion  was  equalled  only  by  that  of  Mrs.  WASH- 
INGTON. She  had  then  just  grown  to  womanhood,  and 
was  called  the  dark-eyed  lady  of  Mount  Vernon. 

The  loss  of  JOHN  PABKE  CUSTIS,  who  had  served  as  one 
of  his  aid-de-camps  during  a  part  of  the  war,  and  who 


80  WASHINGTON. 

had  contracted  liis  death-fever  at  Yorktown,  was  keenly  • 
felt  by  WASHINGTON,  and  he  at  once  adopted  his  two 
youngest  children  as  his  own,  and  they  became  the 
children  of  Mount  Vernon  of  after-years.  These,  too, 
were  a  boy  and  girl,  whose  names  as  "  GEORGE  WASH- 
INGTON PABKE  Cusus"  and  "  NELLY  CUSTIS,"  were  long 
interwoven  with  the  associations  of  Mount  Vernon. 

We  may  be  permitted  to  give  one  other  scene  in 
WASHINGTON'S  domestic  relations  at  this  time,  and  carry 
the  reader  with  us  to  the  home  of  his  mother  at  Fred- 
ericksburg,  which  he  visited  soon  after  the  battle  of 
Yorktown.  No  pageantry  of  war,  no  sounding  trum- 
pets, no  waving  banners  announced  his  coming.  She 
was  alone,  and  her  aged  hands  were  diligently  em- 
ployed in  domestic  industry,  as  WASHINGTON  approached 
her  threshold.  A  smile  of  recognition,  a  warm  em- 
brace, and  the  endearing  name  of  GEORGE,  uttered  with 
trembling  lips,  were  a  mother's  greeting.  As  she  in- 
quired concerning  his  health,  she  marked  the  lines  of 
care  and  toil  that  seven  years  had  traced  on  his  manly 
brow,  and  then  spoke  of  old  friends  and  associations, 
but  of  his  present  fame  and  glory  not  a  word.  WASH- 
INGTON had  been  accompanied  to  Fredericksburg  by 
many  distinguished  officers  of  the  French  and  Ameri- 
can armies,  and  the  citizens  of  Virginia  for  many  miles 
around  gathered  there  to  welcome  the  conquerors  of 
CORNWALLIS.  In  the  evening  a  splendid  entertainment 
was  provided,  to  which  the  mother  of  WASHINGTON  was 
specially  invited.  She  remarked  that  her  dancing 
days  were  past,  but  that  she  should  feel  happy  in  con- 
tributing to  the  festivities  of  the  occasion,  and  con- 
sented to  attend.  When  the  elegant  circle,  composed 


WASHINGTON.  81 

of  French  and  American  chivalry,  graced  with  the 
beauty  of  the  smiling  daughters  of  Virginia,  was  formed, 
WASHINGTON  entered  the  room  with  his  mother  leaning 
on  his  arm,  dressed  in  the  plain  but  becoming  garb  of 
the  Virginia  lady  of  the  olden  time.  To  the  attentions 
and  greetings  she  received  from  the  companions  in 
arms  of  her  son,  the  renowned  warriors  of  two  conti- 
nents, her  words  were  dignified  and  courteous,  al- 
though her  manners  were  reserved.  No  complimentary 
attentions  that  were  shown  to  her  produced  haughti- 
ness in  her  demeanor ;  and  at  an  early  hour,  wishing 
the  company  much  pleasure  in  their  entertainment, 
she  remarked  it  was  "  high  time  for  old  folks  to  l>e  in 
bed,"  and  retired,  leaning  as  before  on  the  arm  of  her 
son.  Those  foreign  officers  who  had  seen  the  pageantry 
and  pride  of  the  artificial  distinctions  of  society  in  the 
Old  World,  looked  with  wonder  and  admiration  on  the 
Spartan  plainness  of  the  mother  of  WASHINGTON  ;  and 
remarked,  that  a  country  which  produced  such  moth- 
ers, might  well  boast  of  illustrious  sons. 


CHAPTEK  V. 


LA  FAYETTE  returns  to  France. — lie  is  a  Mason. — WASHINGTON  receives  letter 
from  WATSON  &  CASSOUL  with  Masonic  regalia. — His  reply. — This  re- 
galia now  in  Lodge  No.  22,  at  Alexandria. — WASHINGTON  at  Newburg. — 
Military  Lodges  there. — Masonic  "  Temple." — Its  dedication. — Lodge 
meetings  in  it. — Celebration  at  West  Point. — WASHINGTON  present  at 
celebration  of  Solomon's  Lodge  at  Poughkeepsie. — Address  to  him. — 
Closing  scenes  of  the  Revolution. — The  "Newburg  letters."— WA.^HINO- 
TON  calls  a  council  in  the  Lodge-room.— Origin  of  the  Society  of  the  Cincin- 
nati.—WASHINGTON  its  first  president. — An  earlier  proposed  "  Order  of 
American  Knighthood."— WASHINGTON  proposed  as  its  Grand  Master. — 
Object  of  the  Society  of  the  Cincinnati. — Opposition  to  it. — Its  Masonic 
features. — Army  disbanded  at  Newburg. — WASHINGTON'S  farewell  to  his 
officers  at  New  York. — Resigns  his  commission  to  Congress  at  Annapolis. 
— Extract  from  his  address.— Extract  from  President  Mifflin's  address. 


]T  the  close  of  the  campaign  of  1781,  LA 
FAYETTE,  believing  the  war  virtually  closed, 
returned  to  France.  He  had  enlisted  in 
our  cause  during  the  darkest  period  of 
the  Revolution,  and  had  been  an  angel 
of  hope  to  "WASHINGTON,  when  despondence  was  written 
on  the  brow  of  many  an  American  soldier.  Of  all  the 
names  on  the  bright  roll  of  our  country's  history  dur- 
ing the  Eevolution,  that  of  LA  FAYETTE  stands  next  to 
WASHINGTON. 

LA  FAYETTE  is  supposed  to  have  been  made  a  Mason 
in  one  of  the  Military  Lodges  of  this  country,  but  the 
record  of  it  is  lost.  Traditions  which  we  shall  consider 


WASHINGTON.  83 

in  their  proper  place,  state  that  it  was  at  Morristown— 
at  Newburg — at  Albany — and  perhaps  at  other  places 
that  he  received  his  degrees,  and  even  that  WASHING- 
TON presided  as  Master  on  some  of  those  occasions. 
While  we  are  unable  to  verify  these,  we  entertain  no 
doubt  that  the  Masonic  tie  existed  between  them  at 
this  time,  and  was  strongly  felt. 

WASHINGTON  was  well  known  in  France  as  a  Mason 
at  this  period ;  and  a  Franco-American  mercantile  firm 
there,  composed  of  Messrs.  WATSON  &  CASSOUL,  both 
of  whom  were  Masons,  wishing  to  send  some  testimony 
of  respect  to  him,  procured  some  nuns  in  a  convent  at 
Nantes  to  manufacture  a  Masonic  sash  and  apron  of 
the  finest  satin,  wrought  with  gold  and  silver  tissue, 
on  which  the  French  and  American  flags  were  com- 
bined with  various  Masonic  emblems  beautifully  de- 
lineated. They  were  executed  in  a  superior  and  ex- 
pensive style,  and  forwarded  from  France  to  WASHING- 
TON, accompanied  by  the  following  letter.  Mr.  WATSON 
had  known  General  WASHINGTON  in  America.  He  was 
the  youthful  officer  who  had  charge  of  the  convoy  of 
powder  from  Providence  to  the  American  camp,  when 
they  were  so  destitute  of  that  article  before  Boston. 


"To  HIS  EXCELLENCY  GENERAL  WASHINGTON,  America: 

"  MOST  ILLUSTRIOUS  AND  RESPECTED  BROTHER  —  In  the 
moment  when  all  Europe  admire  and  feel  the  effects  of  your 
glorious  efforts  in  support  of  American  liberty,  we  hasten 
to  offer  for  your  acceptance  a  small  pledge  of  our  homage 
Zealous  lovers  of  liberty  and  its  institutions,  we  have  ex- 
perienced the  most  refined  joy  in  seeing-  our  chief  and 


84  WASHINGTON. 

brother  stand  forth  in  its  defence,  and  in  defence  of  a  new- 
born nation  of  republicans. 

"  Your  glorious  career  will  not  be  confined  to  the  protec- 
tion of  American  liberty,  but  its  ultimate  effect  will  extend 
to  the  whole  human  family,  since  Providence  has  evidently 
selected  you  as  an  instrument  in  His  hands  to  fulfil  His 
eternal  decrees. 

"It  is  to  you,  therefore,  the  glorious  orb  of  America,  \vc 
presume  to  offer  Masonic  ornaments  as  an  emblem  of  your 
virtues.  May  the  Grand  Architect  of  the  universe  be  the 
guardian  of  your  precious  days,  for  the  glory  of  the  western 
hemisphere  and  the  entire  universe.  Such  are  the  vows  of 
those  who  have  the  favor  to  be,  by  all  the  known  numbers, 
"Your  affectionate  brothers, 

"  \VATSON  &  CASSOUL. 

"  EAST  or  NANTES,  23d  1st  month,  5782." 

WASHINGTON  replied  to  this  letter  as  follows,  from  liis 
headquarters  at  Newburg : 

"STATE  OF  NEW  YOKK,  August  10,  1782. 

"GENTLEMEN — The  Masonic  ornaments  which  accompanied 
your  brotherly  address  of  the  23d  of  January  last,  though 
elegant  in  themselves,  were  rendered  more  valuable  by  tho 
flattering  sentiments  and  affectionate  manner  in  which  they 
were  presented. 

"  If  my  endeavors  to  avert  the  evil  with  which  the  country 
was  threatened  by  a  deliberate  plan  of  tyranny,  should  be 
crowned  with  the  success  that  is  wished,  the  praise  is  due 
to  the  GRAXD  ARCHITECT  of  the  universe,  who  did  not  see  fit 
to  suffer  His  superstructure  of  justice  to  be  subjected  to  the 
ambition  of  the  princes  of  this  world,  or  to  the  rod  of  <>y 
pression  in  the  hands  of  any  power  upon  earth. 


WASHINGTON.  85 

"  For  your  affectionate  vows,  permit  me  to  be  grateful, 
and  offer  mine  for  true  brothers  in  all  parts  of  the  world, 
and  to  assure  you  of  the  sincerity  with  which  I  am, 

"  Yours, 

"  G°.  WASHINGTON. 
"Messrs.  WATSOX  &  CASSOUL,  East  of  Nantes." 

This  letter  is  still  in  the  hands  of  the  family  of  Mr. 
WATSON,  at  Port  Kent,  New  York.  It  is  the  earliest 
Masonic  correspondence  of  WASHINGTON  that  is  known 
to  be  extant.  The  sash  and  apron  to  which  it  relates 
were  often  worn  by  WASHINGTON,  and  were  after  his 
death  presented  by  his  legatees  to  Washington  Lodge, 
No.  22,  at  Alexandria,  where  they  are  still  preserved. 

Our  sketch  now  leads  us  again  to  the  banks  of  the 
Hudson,  near  Newburg,  where  the  principal  northern 
forces  under  WASHINGTON  were  stationed.  Here,  in 
1782-3,  in  rude  huts  erected  to  shelter  them,  they 
awaited  the  progress  of  events  which  might  close  their 
military  labors,  and  secure  to  them  the  boon  for  which 
they  had  endured  years  of  toil,  privations,  and  peril ; 
or  which  might  require  them  to  again  renew  their 
weary  marches,  and  bare  their  breasts  in  deadly  con- 
flicts. 

Many  Military  Lodges  existed  in  the  army  at  this 
period,  but  the  records  of  most  of  them  are  lost.  So 
well  established  had  these  camp-lodges  become,  and 
so  beneficial  to  the  brethren,  that  in  providing  the 
necessary  conveniences  for  the  troops  in  their  quarters 
on  the  Hudson  at  this  time,  an  Assembly-room,  or 
Hall  was  built,  one  of  the  purposes  of  which  was  to 
serve  as  a  Lodge-room  for  the  Military  Lodges.  WASH- 


SG  WASHINGTON . 

INGTON  himself  ordered  the  erection  of  the  building.  It 
was  a  rude  wooden  structure,  forming  an  oblong  square, 
forty  by  sixty  feet,  was  one  story  in  height,  and  had 
but  a  single  door.  Its  windows  were  square  unglazed 
openings,  elevated  so  high  as  to  prevent  the  prying 
gaze  of  the  cowan.  Its  timbers  were  hewed,  squared, 
and  numbered  for  their  places ;  and  when  the  building 
was  finished,  it  was  joyously  dedicated,  and  called 
"  The  Temple  of  Virtue:' 

This  Temple,  or  "  Assembly-room,"  as  it  was  some- 
times called,  was  not  appropriated  exclusively  to  Ma- 
sonic purposes  ;  but  on  the  Sabbath  it  was  used  as  a 
chapel  for  religious  services,  and  at  other  times  for 
meetings  of  the  officers  of  the  army,  and  also  for  dan- 
cing and  other  festive  amusements.  The  American 
Union  Lodge  met  in  this  room  on  the  24th  of  June, 
1782,  preparatory  to  celebrating  the  festival  of  St. 
John  the  Baptist,  and  proceeded  from  thence  to  West 
Point,  where  they  were  joined  by  "Washington  Lodge, 
when  a  procession  was  formed  at  the  house  of  General 
PATTERSON,  its  first  master ;  and  both  lodges  proceeded 
from  thence  to  the  "  Colonnade,"  where  a  dinner  was 
provided,  and  an  oration  delivered  by  Colonel  JOHN 
BROOKS,  Master  of  "Washington  Lodge,  and  afterwards 
governor  of  Massachusetts.  American  Union  Lodge 
then  returned  to  their  room  at  the  temple,  and  closed 
in  good  time.  We  have  no  record  of  WASHINGTON'S 
being  present  on  this  occasion ;  but  at  a  celebration  of 
the  festival  of  St.  John  the  Evangelist,  on  the  27th  of 
December  of  the  same  year  by  King  Solomon's  Lodge 
at  Poughkeepsie,  WASHINGTON  was  present  as  a  visitor. 
The  imperfect  records  of  that  lodge  state,  that  "  after 


WASHINGTON.  87 

dinner  the  following  address  was  presented  to  his  ex- 
cellency, Brother  WASHINGTON  :"   • 

• 

"We,  the  Master,  and  Wardens,  and  Brethren  of  Solo- 
mon's Lodge,  No.  1,  are  highly  sensible  of  the  honor  done 
to  Masonry  in  general  by  the  countenance  shown  to  it  by 
the  most  dignified  character ." 

We  have  given  the  language  of  this  address  as  it 
stands  recorded  on  the  minute-book  of  the  lodge  ; 
but  it  has  the  appearance  of  being  the  commencement 
of  an  address  to  WASHINGTON  which  the  secretary 
neglected  fully  to  record.  We  regret  that  he  did  not 
give  us  the  full  address,  and  WASHINGTON'S  reply.  It 
was  the  first  instance  we  have  met  with  of  a  formal 
Masonic  address  by  any  lodge  to  WASHINGTON. 

The  drama  of  the  Revolution  had  been  virtually 
closed  at  Yorktown,  in  October,  1781,  by  the  capture 
of  COKNWALLIS,  and  the  operations  of  the  armies  in  the 
two  succeeding  years  partook  more  of  the  nature  of  an 
armistice  than  of  military  campaigns.  The  principal 
British  force  remaining  in  America  was  still  in  posses- 
sion of  the  city  of  New  York,  and  WASHINGTON'S  head- 
quarters were  still  at  Newburg.  The  scenes  which 
occurred  at  Newburg  during  the  cantonment  of  the 
troops  there  from  the  autumn  of  1781  to  the  final  dis- 
banding of  the  army  in  November,  1783,  are  not  with- 
out interest  in  the  Masonic  history  of  WASHINGTON. 

It  was  during  this  transition  period  from  war  to  peace, 
when  inaction  had  given  the  officers  and  soldiers  of  the 
army  time  to  reflect  on  their  past  and  present  suffer- 
ings, and  the  future  that  was  before  them,  that  a  spirit 
of  discontent  arose  almost  to  mutiny  and  rebellion. 


88  WASHINGTON. 

Earnest  but  respectful  solicitations  had  been  made  tc 
Congress  for  relief  from  their  embarrassments,  by  an 
adjustment  of  their  meritorious  claims ;  but  the  tardy 
action  of  that  body  so  increased  the  discontent  of  the 
army,  that  a  call  was  made,  from  a  then  unknown 
source,  for  a  grand  convention  of  the  officers  to  meet 
and  demand  of  Congress  in  unequivocal  terms  imme- 
diate redress.  Two  anonymous  letters,  artfully  written, 
appealing  to  the  passions  of  the  army,  and  denouncing 
as  a  traitor  to  its  interests  any  one  who  should  venture 
to  recommend  moderation  and  delay,  were  at  the  same 
time  put  in  circulation. 

"WASHINGTON  saw  that  a  crisis  had  come  when  the  in- 
tegrity of  the  army  and  the  authority  of  Congress 
must  be  maintained,  or  all  the  toil,  privation,  and 
blood  of  the  past  eight  years,  and  all  the  glorious 
hopes  of  the  future,  would  be  at  once  lost.  He  there- 
fore ordered  a  council  of  his  tried  and  trusty  officers  to 
meet  at  the  lodge-room  in  tke  "Temple,"  and  by  his 
own  wise  counsels  in  it,  obtained  another  proof  of  the 
devotion  of  the  army,  and  the  attachment  of  the  officers 
to  him  as  their  commander. 

No  historian  can  ever  determine  the  influence  of 
that  mystic  tie  that  bound  so  many  of  the  officers  of 
that  suffering  patriot  army  in  bonds  of  Masonic  brother- 
hood to  "WASHINGTON,  in  the  happy  termination  of  this 
incipient  treason.  He  had  often  joined  with  them  iij 
the  same  room  in  Masonic  labors  ;  and  while,  by  the 
constitutions  of  Masonry,  neither  the  civil  or  military 
concerns  of  the  country  could  have  been  discussed  in 
the  lodge,  yet  who  will  say  that  the  lessons  taught 
and  learned  there  were  not  instrumental,  in  the  hands 


WASHINGTON.  89 

of  WASHINGTON,  in  directing  and  controlling  the  minds 
of  his  associate  officers  at  this  critical  period.  But  the 
veil  which  then  covered  the  hand  that  so  cunningly 
penned  those  anonymous  letters,  which  sought  to  draw 
even  WASHINGTON  himself  from  his  devotion  to  the  civil 
authorities,  still  rests  on  the  strength  of  that  mystic 
tie  that  bound  so  many  of  that  patriot  band  to  him, 
and  through  him  to  our  country. 

We  have  already  noted  in  our  sketch  the  strong  de- 
sire of  the  Masonic  brethren  in  the  army  that  WASH- 
INGTON should  be  constituted  the  head  of  Masons  in 
this  country.  But  as  the  time  for  the  disbanding  of 
the  army  drew  near,  and  no  definite  action  of  the 
whole  Fraternity  in  America  had  been  taken,  an  affec- 
tionate regard  of  the  officers  for  their  commander,  and 
for  each  other,  led  them  to  form  an  association  among 
themselves,  having  the  social  features  of  the  Masonic 
institution  as  its  leading  principle,  and  designed,  by  in- 
culcating benevolence  and  mutual  relief,  to  perpetuate 
their  friendships,  and  incite  in  their  minds  the  most 
exalted  patriotism.  The  idea  of  such  a  society  is  said 
to  have  originated  with  General  KNOX,  who  communi- 
cated his  plan  to  Baron  STEUBEN  ;  and  at  a  general 
meeting  of  the  officers,  on  the  13th  of  May,  1783,  with 
the  approbation  of  WASHINGTON,  they  instituted  the 
"  Society  of  the  Cincinnati,"  and  he  became  its  first 
president,  and  continued  to  hold  the  office  until  his 
death. 

In  a  sermon  delivered  on  the  4th  of  July,  1790,  be- 
fore the  State  Society  of  the  Cincinnati  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, by  the  Rev.  WILLIAM  SMITH,  D.  D.,  and  provost 
of  the  college  at  Philadelphia,  he  claims  that  the  name 


90  WASHINGTON. 

of  CINCINNATI  for  this  society  was  adopted  from  a  sug- 
gestion of  liis,  in  a  Masonic  sermon  preached  before 
the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania  in  presence  of  WASH- 
INGTON, on  the  festival  of  the  Evangelist  in  1778,  in 
which  he  alludes  to  him  as  the  "Cincinnatus  of  the 
age." 

The  newspapers  of  that  period  give  an  account  of 
an  earlier  proposed  association,  or  "New  Order  of 
American  Knighthood,"  as  it  was  called.  As  early  as 
March  25,  1783,  the  Philadelphia  papers  stated  that, 

"  On  the  next  anniversary  of  Independence,  the  4th  of 
July,  a  new  Order  of  Knighthood,  called  the  Order  of  Free- 
dom, will  be  established,  and  the  installation  take  place  in 
the  city  of  Philadelphia. 

"  Patron  of  the  Order  ;— ST.  Louis. 

"  Chief  of  the  Order ; — President  of  Congress  for  the  time 
being. 

"  Grand  Master  ; — General  WASHINGTON. 

"  Chancellor  ; — Dr.  FRANKLIN. 

"  Prelate  ; — Dr.  WITHERSPOON. 

"  Genealogist ; — Mr.  PAYNE. 

"  Gentleman  Usher  ; — Mr.  THOMPSON. 

"  Register  and  Secretary ; — Mr.  DIGGS. 

"  Herald  ; — Mr.  HUTCHINGS. 

"  Twenty-four  knight  companions,  consisting  of  the  gov- 
ernor of  each  State  for  the  time  being,  which  they  reckon 
nineteen. 

"  General  LINCOLN  ; — General  GREENE  ; — General  WAYNE  ; 
— Colonel  LEE. 

"  The  robe  is  to  be  scarlet  and  blue,  with  ermine, — the 
ribbon  a  broad  satin,  with  thirteen  alternate  stripes  of  red 
and  white ;  to  wliich  will  be  suspended  an  embossed  medal 


91 

of  gold  and  enamel,  on  the  front  of  which  will  be  repre- 
sented Virtue,  the  genius  of  the  United  States,  dressed  like 
an  Amazon,  resting  on  a  spear  with  one  hand,  and  holding  a 
sword  with  the  other,  and  treading  on  Tyranny,  represented 
by  a  man  prostrate,  a  crown  fallen  from  his  head,  a  broken 
chain  in  his  left  hand,  and  a  scourge  in  his  right ;  in  the 
exergue,  Sic  semper  tyrannis.  On  the  reverse  is  a  group  : 
Liberty  with  her  wand  and  Pileus  ;  on  one  side  of  her,  Ceres 
with  a  cornucopia  in  one  hand,  and  an  ear  of  wheat  in  the 
other ;  on  the  other  side,  Eternity,  with  the  globe  and  Phoenix. 
In  the  exergue,  Dem  nobis  hoc  otia  fecit.  The  loop  of  the 
medal  is  to  be  formed  by  the  figure  of  a  rattlesnake  with 
the  tail  in  its  mouth,  as  an  emblem  of  eternity.  An  erect 
staff  of  liberty,  terminated  by  a  cap  at  top,  will  be  fixed  to 
the  body  of  the  snake,  and  under  it  the  motto  of  Li  rec- 
to decus." 

This  we  believe  to  have  been  the  earliest  attempt  in 
the  United  States  to  form  a  social  institution  modelled 
after  civic  distinctions  of  society  in  Europe.  Who  its 
projectors  were,  who  its  advocates,  and  who  its  op- 
posers,  we  have  not  learned.  Although  such  a  society 
never  went  into  existence,  yet  as  it'  contemplated  for 
General  WASHINGTON  the  distinguished  honor  of  being- 
its  Grand  Master,  and  as  a  curious  prelude  to  the  for- 
mation of  the  Society  of  the  Cincinnati,  we  have  given 
it  a  place  in  this  sketch. 

The  Society  of  the  Cincinnati  was  designed  as  an 
association  of  the  officers  of  the  army  after  its  disband- 
ing, and  of  their  eldest  male  descendants,  to  whom  the 
privilege  of  membership  was  to  be  hereditary.  It  pro- 
vided for  a  golden  medal  or  "  Order,"  as  a  badge  of 
distinction  to  its  members,  and  made  provision  also  for 


92  WASHINGTON. 

• 

funds  from  the  attainment  of  membership  and  volun« 
tary  contribution,  for  the  relief  of  its  indigent  mem- 
bers. 

The  Society  of  the  Cincinnati  thus  became  an  or- 
ganized body,  without  any  known  opposition  either  in 
the  army  or  from  citizens  in  civil  life.  Its  associa- 
tions were  pleasing  to  its  members,  and  they  doubt- 
less looked  forward  to  its  future  meetings  as  social  re- 
unions, without  any  idea  of  personal  aggrandizement 
to  themselves.  But  a  strong  feeling  of  jealousy  and 
opposition  to  the  society  soon  sprang  up  in  different 
States  ;  and;  as  it  was  claimed  by  many  that  it  created 
a  new  order  of  hereditary  nobility,  the  public  mind 
became  strongly  opposed  to  it  in  many  of  them. 
Pennsylvania,  Massachusetts,  and  Connecticut  offi- 
cially declared  the  institution  unjustifiable,  and  Rhode 
Island  proceeded  so  far  as  to  annul  the  civil  privileges 
of  all  her  citizens  who  -should  be  members  of  it,  and 
declare  them  incapable  of  holding  any  office  under. her 
government.  "While  this  opposition  to  the  society  in 
America  arose  from  a  belief  that  it  was  dangerous  to 
the  liberties  of  the  country,  it  is  a  curious  commentary 
on  the  fallibility  of  opinions,  and  the  strength  of  preju- 
dice, that  Gustavus  the  Third,  king  of  Sweden,  forbade 
the  Swedish  officers  who  had  served  in  the  French 
army  during  the  American  war,  to  wear  the  badges  of 
the  Cincinnati,  on  the  ground  that  the  institution  had 
a  republican  tendency,  and  was  not  suited  to  his  gov- 
ernment. 

WASHINGTON  saw,  that  though  the  institution  was 
innocent  in  itself  and  laudable  in  its  real  objects, 
yet,  that  the  prejudices  of  the  people  were  too  deeply 


WASHINGTON.  93 

disturbed  by  it ;  and  by  his  recommendation  its  con- 
stitution was  changed  at  its  next  annual  meeting,  by 
withdrawing  all  claims  of  its  members  to  hereditary 
distinctions,  disclaiming  all  interference  with  political 
subjects,  and  placing  their  funds  under  the  immediate 
cognizance  of  State  legislatures,  retaining  only  their 
right  to  indulge  their  own  private  feelings  of  friend- 
ship, and  the  acts  of  benevolence  which  it  was  their 
intention  should  flow  from  them. 

The  social  and  benevolent  features  of  this  society 
were  strikingly  similar  to  the  same  features  in  Ma- 
sonry, from  which,  doubtless,  the  leading  idea  was 
drawn.  Many  of  its  members  were  Masons,  and  as 
such,  well  understood  the  social  influence  of  a  union 
that  embraced  in  its  objects,  not  only  the  welfare  and 
happiness  of  its  members  while  living,  but  of  their 
widows  and  orphans  after  them.  From  this  institu- 
tion, Masonry  may  also  a  few  years  later  have  drawn 
some  of  its  principles  of  government  in  the  higher 
bodies  of  the  Ancient  York  Kite. 

The  autumnal  months  of  1783  were  the  last  in  the 
military  life  of  WASHINGTON.  His  army  had  been  dis- 
banded at  Newburg,  and  he  had  seen  each  corps  of 
his  remaining  soldiers  file  by  him  for  the  last  time, 
and  pass  onward  to  their  homes.  He  then  hastened 
to  New  York,  where  his  final  adieu  was  to  be  taken  of 
his  officers.  The  British  troops  had  evacuated  the 
city  on  the  25th  of  November ;  and  on  the  4th  of  De- 
cember, at  meridian,  WASHINGTON'S  principal  officers 
assembled  at  FKATJNCES'  tavern,  to  take  a  final  leave  of 
their  commander. 

The  scene  was  aftecting  beyond  comparison.     There 


94  WASHINGTON. 

t  • 

were  gathered  there  those  who  for  eight  long  years 
had  been  his  faithful  associates  in  privations  and 
dangers;  who  had  followed  him  in  many  weary 
marches,  and  fought  by  his  side  in  many  an  unequal 
battle.  Many  were  there  who  had  sat  with  him  in  the 
war-councils  of  the  camp,  and  mingled  with  him  in  the 
mystic  labors  of  the  Masonic  lodge-room.  And  now 
they  were  met  to  bid  him,  as  their  loved  commander, 
a  last  farewell ! 

As  WASHINGTON  entered  the  room,  and  stood  for  the 
last  time  before  them,  he  could  not  conceal  his  emo- 
tions. Filling  a  glass  with  wine,  he  raised  it,  and  said : 
"  With  a  heart  full  of  love  and  gratitude,  I  now  take 
leave  of  you ;  and  most  devoutly  do  I  wish  that  your 
latter  days  may  be  as  prosperous  and  happy  as  your 
former  ones  have  been  glorious  and  honorable."  He 
tasted  the  wine,  and,  with  voice  trembling  with  emo- 
tion, said :  "  I  cannot  come  to  each  of  you,  to  take  my 
leave ;  but  shall  be  obliged  to  you,  if  each  of  you  will 
come  and  take  me  by  the  hand."  General  KNOX  stood 
nearest  to  him.  WASHINGTON  grasped  his  proffered 
hand,  and,  incapable  of  utterance,  drew  him  to  his 
bosom  with  a  tender  embrace.  Each  officer  in  his 
turn  received  the  same  silent  affectionate  farewell: 
Every  eye  was  filled  with  tears,  every  heart  throbbed 
with  emotion,  but  no  tongue  interrupted  the  tender- 
ness of  the  scene.  To  those  who  had  known  him  only 
as  the  stern  commander;  it  was  like  JOSEPH'S  making 
himself  known  to  his  brethren ;  but  to  those  who  had 
met  him  as  a  brother  in  the  lodge-room,  it  was  but  the 
renewal  of  the  mystic  grasp,  and  the  well-remembered 
silent  embrace  they  had  each  known  before. 


WASHINGTON".  95 

"  Weeping  through  that  sad  group  he  pass'd, 
Turned  once,  and  gazed,  and  then  was  gone — 
It  was  his  tender est,  and  his  last." 

A  corps  of  infantry  received  him  at  the  door,  and  as 
he  passed  through  their  ranks,  they  saw  his  broad 
bosom  heave  with  emotions  to  them  unseen  before ;  and 
the  sobs  of  sorrow,  and  the  tears  that  fell  fast  on  their 
cheeks,  told  how  well  they  loved  him.  WASHINGTON 
hastened  on  board  a  barge  upon  the  Hudson  that  was 
ready  to  receive  him,  and  as  the  dipping  oar  sped  him 
from  them,  he  raised  his  hat  above  his  head,  and  bade 
all  whom  he  left  behind  a  silent  adieu. 

But  there  was  still  another  link  to  be  severed  in  the 
chain  that  bound  him,  as  commander-in- chief,  to  our 
country,  and  he  hastened  to  Annapolis,  where  Con- 
gress was  then  in  session,  to  return  to  their  hands  the 
commission  he  had  received  from  them  eight  years 
before,  and  lay  before  them  a  sword  unstained  with 
dishonor.  He  arrived  at  Annapolis  on  the  19th  day  of 
December,  and  immediately  signified  to  Congress  his 
purpose  to  resign  into  their  hands  his  commission,  and 
desired  their  pleasure  as  to  the  time  and  manner  of 
its  reception.  That  body,  desirous  of  giving  dignity 
to  the  spectacle,  and  honor  to  him  who  was  its  chief 
actor,  appointed  the  following  Tuesday,  at  meridian, 
to  honor  him  with  a  public  audience,  and  receive  from 
his  own  hand  the  high  commission  he  bore. 

Upon  the  23d  of  December,  at  the  hour  appointed, 
the  closing  scene  in  the  drama  of  the  Revolution  took 
place.  The  chosen  representatives  of  the  States  were 
each  in  their  seats,  and  a  few  distinguished  foreigners 
and  Americans  were  admitted  to  their  floor,  while  the 


96  WASHINGTON. 

gallery  was  crowded  with  citizens.  As  WASHINGTON 
entered,  every  spectator  arose  and  stood  uncovered, 
while  the  members  of  Congress,  representing  the  su- 
preme majesty  of  the  people,  remained  covered  in  their 
seats.  Nine  years  before  he  had  been  a  member  of 
that  same  body,  as  an  honored  delegate  from  Virginia, 
and  had  been  elected  from  his  seat,  by  their  own  wise 
choice,  to  receive  a  commission  he  now  held  in  his 
hand  to  return  again  to  them.  But  to  whom  was  he 
to  return  it  ?  As  representing  the  sovereignty  of  the 
people,  the  body  was  indeed  the  same ;  but,  alas ! 
many  familiar  faces  were  not  there.  The  first  president 
of  that  body,  PEYTON  EANDOLPH,  was  not  there.  Lov- 
ing hands  had,  years  before,  borne  him  to  his  last  rest- 
ing-place in  the  green  fields  of  Virginia,  and  his  Ma- 
sonic brethren  had  planted  the  acacia  over  .his  grave. 

As  WASHINGTON  advanced  to  offer  his  commission  to 
General  MIITLIN,  then  president  of  the  body,  amidst  a 
deep  and  solemn  silence,  he  addressed  him  in  words  of 
felicitation  on  the  happy  termination  of  the  war,  com- 
mended the  interests  of  our  country  to  the  protection  of 
Almighty  God,  and  closed  by  saying : 

"Having  now  finished  the  work  assigned  me,  I  retire 
from  the  great  theatre  of  action  ;  and  bidding  an  affec- 
tionate farewell  to  this  august  body,  under  whose  orders  I 
have  so  long  acted,  I  here  offer  my  commission,  and  take 
my  leave  of  the  employments  of  public  life." 

President  MIFFLIN  received  his  commission  with 
words  of  gratitude  and  tenderness,  and  closed  by 
saying : 


WASHINGTON.    .  97 

"  We  join  you  in  commending  the  interests  of  our  dearest 
country  to  the  protection  of  Almighty  God,  beseeching  him 
to  dispose  the  hearts  and  minds  of  its  citizens  to  improve 
the  opportunity  afforded  them  of  becoming  a  happy  and 
respectable  nation  ;  and  for  you,  we  address  to  him  our 
earnest  prayers,  that  a  life  so  beloved  may  be  fostered  with 
all  his  care ;  that  your  latter  days  may  be  as  happy  as  they 
have  been  illustrious,  and  that  he  will  finally  give  you  that 
reward  which  this  world  cannot  give." 


CHAPTER   VI. 

WASHINGTON  arrives  at  Mount  Vernon.— deceives  a  letter  from  lodge  at 
Alexandria. — His  reply. — He  resumes  domestic  employments. — His  feel- 
ings on  the  occasion. — Calls  upon  his  time  and  attention  burdensome  to 
him. — Employs  Mr.  LEAK  as  secretary. — A  visit  from  Mr.  WATSON. — 
Eeceives  invitation  to  attend  celebration  of  St.  John  the  Baptist  by  Lodge 
at  Alexandria. — His  reply. — He  attends  the  celebration. — Is  elected  an 
honorary  member  of  the  Lodge. — LA  FATETTE  visits  America. — Presents 
WASHINGTON  Masonic  sash  and  apron. — Apron  afterwards  presented  to 
Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania.— Distinction  between  WATSON  &  CASSOCL 
apr.on  and  LA  FAYETTE  apron. — Laying  of  the  cornerstone  of  the  Acad- 
emy at  Alexandria. — Grand  Lodge  of  New  York  dedicates  its  first  book 
of  constitutions  to  WASHINGTON. — Such  dedications  to  him  usual  during 
his  lifetime. — Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania  becomes  an  independent 
body,  and  requires  her  lodges  to  renew  their  warrants. — WASHINGTON 
president  of  convention  to  form  Federal  constitution.— Lodge  at  Alex- 
andria takes  a  new  warrant  from  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Virginia,  and  chooses 
WASHINGTON  as  Master. — Interesting  records  and  correspondence  at  that 
time  on  the  subject.— WASHINGTON  elected  President  under  the  Federal 
constitution.— Masonic  incidents  relating  to  this  election  in  Philadelphia. 
— Holland  Lodge  in  New  York  elects  WASHINGTON  an  honorary  member. — 
Copy  of  its  letter  and  certificate  to  him. — Old.  "  Washington  Chapter" 
of  New-York. — WASHINGTON'S  last  visit  to  his  mother. — Her  death  and 
grave. 

[ASHINGTON  proceeded  to  Mount  Vernon 
immediately  after  resigning  his  commis- 
sion at  Annapolis,  and  arrived  there  on 
the  following  evening.  It  was  the  24th 
of  December,  three  days  before  the  an- 
niversary of  St.  John  the  Evangelist.  A  lodge  of 
Freemasons  had  been  formed  in  Alexandria,  a  few 
miles  from  his  home,  in  the  preceding  February.  It 


WASHINGTON.  99 

was  working  under  a  warrant  from  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  Pennsylvania,  and  numbered,  39.  KOBEKT  ADAM 
was  its  Master,  and  many  of  WASHINGTON'S  old  friends 
and  neighbors,  in  and  about  Alexandria,  were  its  mem- 
bers. This  lodge  was  preparing  to  celebrate  the  com- 
ing festival  of  St.  John  the  Evangelist,  on  the  27th ; 
and  the  following  letter,  signed  by  the  officers  of  the 
lodge,  was  addressed  to  General  WASHINGTON  : 

"ALEXANDRIA,  26th December,  1783. 

•'SiR — Whilst  all  denominations  of  people  bless  the  happy 
occasion  of  your  excellency's  return  to  enjoy  private  and 
domestic  felicity,  permit  us,  sir,  the  members  of  Lodge  No. 
39,  lately  established  in  Alexandria,  to  assure  your  excel- 
lency, that  we,  as  a  mystical  body,  rejoice  in  having  a 
brother  so  near  us,  whose  pre-eminent  benevolence  has 
eccured  the  happiness  of  millions;  and  that  we  shall  esteem 
ourselves  highly  honored  at  all  times  your  excellency  shall 
be  pleased  to  join  us  in  the  needful  business. 

"We  have  the  honor  to  be,  in  the  name  and  behalf  of 
No.  39,  your  excellency's 

Devoid  friends  and  brothers, 

ROBERT  ADAM,  M., 
E.  C.  DICK,  S.  W., 
J.  ALLISON,  J.  W., 
WM.  RAMSEY,  Treas. 
"His  EXCELLENCY  GENEKAL  WASHINGTON." 

WASHINGTON  had  but  two  days  'before  returned  to 
the  quiet  of  his  own  loved  homo,  after  years  of  toil 
and  dangers  in  the  camp  and  in  t/,e  battle-field,  and 
he  might  well  have  said  to  them  : 


100  WASHINGTON. 

"Now  give  mo  rest;  my  years  demand 

A  holiday,  companions  dear : 
My  days  are  drawing  to  an  end, 
And  I  would  for  that  end  prepare. 

*' Now  give  mo  rest;  but  when  ye  meet, 

Brothers,  in  that  beloved  spot, 
My  name  with  loving  lips  repeat, 
And  never  let  it  be  forgot." 

WASHINGTON  was  unable  to  attend  this  festival,  but 
he  sent  to  the  lodge  the  following  reply  : 

"  MOUNT  VERNON,  28th  December,  1783. 

"  GENTLEMEN — With  a  pleasing  sensibility,  I  received 
your  favor  of  the  26th ;  and  beg  leave  to  offer  my  sincere 
thanks  for  the  favorable  sentiments  with  which  it  abounds. 
"I  shall  always  feel  pleasure  when  it  may  be  in  my 
power  to  render  service  to  Lodge  No.  39,  and  in  every  act 
of  brotherly  kindness  to  the  members  of  it,  being  with 
great  truth, 

"  Your  affectionate  brother 

and  obedient  servant, 

"  G°.  WASHINGTON. 
"ROBEET  ADAM,  Esq.,  Master, 

Wardens  and  Treasurer  of  Lodge  No.  39." 

WASHINGTON'S  feelings  and  employments  on  return- 
ing to  private  life  may  be  best  seen  from  his  own  cor- 
respondence ;  and  from  various  letters  of  his  written 
at  that  period,  the  following  extracts  are  given : 

"  The  scene  is  at  last  closed.  *  *  *  *  On  the  eve  of  Christ- 
mas I  entered  these  doors,  an  older  man  by  nine  years  than 
when  I  left  them.  *  *  *  *  I  am  just  beginning  to  experience 


WASHINGTON.  101 

that  ease  and  freedom  from  public  cares,  which,  howevei 
desirable,  takes  some  time  to  realize.  It  was  not  till  lately 
I  could  get  the  better  of  my  usual  custom  of  ruminating,  as 
soon  as  I  waked  in  the  morning,  on  the  business  of  the 
ensuing  day;  and  of  my  surprise  at  finding,  after  revolving 
many  things  in  my  mind,  that  I  was  no  longer  a  public 
man,  nor  had  any  thing  to  do  with  public  transactions. 
*****  I  hope  to  spend  the  remainder  of  my  days  in  cul- 
tivating the  affections  of  good  men,  and  in  the  practice  of 
the  domestic  virtues.  *****  The  life  of  the  husbandman, 
of  all  others,  is  the  most  delightful.  It  is  honorable,  it  is 
amusing,  and  with  judicious  management,  it  is  profitable. 
*****  I  have  not  only  retired  from  all  public  employ- 
ments, but  I  am  retiring  within  myself,  and  shall  be  able  to 
view  the  solitary  walk,  and  tread  the  paths  of  private  life 
with  a  heartfelt  satisfaction.  Envious  of  none,  I  am  de- 
termined to  be  pleased  with  all  ;  and  this,  my  dear  friend, 
being  the  order  of  my  march,  I  will  move  gently  down  the 
stream  of  life,  until  I  sleep  with  my  fathers." 

Such  sentiments  are  so  perfectly  in  accordance  with 
the  precepts  of  Masonry,  that  they  are  worthy  of  a 
place  in  WASHINGTON'S  Masonic  history.  But  in  his 
retirement  to  Mount  Yernon  he  was  not  lost  to  the 
world,  nor  forgotten  by  his  countrymen.  "With  Yir- 
ginian  hospitality,  his  doors  were  ever  open,  and  all 
who  had  a  claim  on  his  friendship  or  his  kindness 
were  ever  received  with  welcome ;  and  he  was  ready, 
too,  to  respond  to  letters  written  to  him  from  people 
of  every  condition,  and  upon  every  subject.  But  the 
anxiety  of  those  who  travelled  abroad  was  so  great  to 
carry  some  testimonial  from  him,  and  cf  those  who 
remained  at  home  to  possess  some  msincnal  of  his 


102  WASHINGTON. 

kindness,  that  the  labor  of  replying  to  the  numerous 
letters  addressed  to  him  became  a  burden.  To  an  in- 
timate friend  he  wrote 

"It  is  not,  my  dear  sir,  the  letters  of  my  friends  which 
give  me  trouble,  or  add  aught  to  my  perplexity.  I  receive 
them  with  pleasure,  and  pay  as-  much  attention  to  them  as 
rny  avocations  will  permit.  It  is  in  reference  to  old  matters 
with  which  I  have  nothing  to  do  ;  applications  which  often- 
times cannot  be  complied  with;  inquiries,  to  satisfy  which 
would  employ  the  pen  of  an  historian;  letters  of  compliment, 
as  unmeaning,  perhaps,  as  they  are  troublesome,  but 
which  must  be  attended  to  ;  and  commonplace  business, 
which  employ  my  pen  and  rny  time,  often  disagreeably. 
Indeed,  these,  with  company,  deprive  me  of  exercise  ;  and 
unless  I  can  obtain  relief,  must  be  productive  of  disagree- 
able consequences.  Already  I  begin  to  feel  their  effects. 
Heavy  and  painful  oppressions  of  the  head,  and  other  dis- 
agreeable sensations  often  trouble  me.  I  am,  therefore,  de- 
termined to  employ  some  person  who  shall  ease  me  of  the 
drudgery  of  this  business.  ******  To  correspond  with 
those  I  love  is  among  my  highest  gratifications.  Letters  of 
friendship  require  no  study;  the  communications  they  con- 
tain flow  with  ease,  and  allowances  are  expected  and  made. 
But  this  is  not  the  case  with  those  which  require  research, 
consideration,  and  recollection." 

WASHINGTON  was  compelled  to  employ  a  young  gen- 
tleman of  talents  and  education  to  relieve  himself  of 
these  irksome  labors,  and  to  his  care  such  correspond- 
ence was  afterwards  committed.  This  was  TOBIAS 
LEAE,  who  remained  his  private  secretary  until  his 
death.  Many  personal  narratives  have  come  down  to 
us  of  the  kind  reception  WASHINGTON  gave  his  guests 


WASHINGTON.  103 

at  Mount  Vernon,  and  among  them  is  one  from  the 
pen  of  the  late  Hon.  ELKANAH  WATSON,  who  visited  him 
in  the  winter  of  1785.  He  had  been  the  senior  part- 
ner of  WATSON  &  CASSOUL  in  France  during  the  war, 
and  has  been  already  referred  to  in  this  sketch  as 
having  corresponded  with  Y^ASHINGTON  at  that  time, 
and  sent  him  a  box  of  Masonic  regalia. 

"  The  first  evening,"  says  he,  "  I  spent  under  the  wing  of; 
WASHINGTON'S  hospitality,  we  sat  a  full  hour  at  table  by 
ourselves  without  the  least  interruption,  after  the  family 
had  retired.  I  was  extremely  oppressed  by  a  severe  cold 
arid  excessive  coughing,  contracted  by  the  exposure  of  a 
harsh  winter  journey.  Ho  pressed  me  to  take  some  reme- 
dies, but  I  declined  doing  so.  As  usual  after  retiring,  my 
coughing  increased.  When  some  time  had  elapsed,  the  door 
of  my  room  was  gently  opened,  and  on  drawing  my  bed- 
rnrtains,  to  my  utter  astonishment  I  beheld  WASHINGTON 
himself  standing  at  my  bedside,  with  a  bowl  of  hot  tea  in 
his  hand.  I  was  mortified  and  distressed  beyond  expres- 
sion. This  little  incident  occurring  in  common  life  with  an 
ordinary  man,  would  not  have  been  noticed  ;  but  as  a  trait 
of  the  benevolence  and  private  virtue  of  WASHINGTON,  de- 
serves to  be  recorded." 

As  WASHINGTON  had  been  unable  to  attend  the  fes- 
tival of  the  Evangelist  in  December,  his  Masonic 
brethren  in  Alexandria  resolved  to  give  an  entertain- 
ment for  him  in  the  following  February,  and  the  lodge 
directed  its  secretary  to  write  to  him  to  know  when  it 
would  be  convenient  for  him  to  favor  them  with  his 
company.  At  a  subsequent  meeting  of  the  lodge, 
held  on  the  20th  of  February,  the  Worshipful  Master, 


104  WASHINGTON. 

Mr.  ADAM,  informed  the  brethren  that  it  had  been  in- 
timated to  him  that  it  would  be  inconvenient  for  WASH- 
INGTON to  attend  at  present,  and  the  invitation  was 
postponed. 

On  the  approach  of  the  festival  of  St.  John  the  Bap- 
tist in  June,  the  lodge  addressed  WASHINGTON  an  invi- 
tation to  join  them,  to  which  he  sent  the  following 
reply : 

"MOUNT  VBRNON,  June  19,  1784. 

"  DEAR  SIR — With  pleasure,  I  received  the  invitation  of 
the  master  and  members  of  Lodge  No.  39,  to  dine  with  them 
on  the  approaching  anniversary  of  St.  John  the  Baptist.  If 
nothing  unforeseen  at  present  interferes,  I  will  have  the  honor 
of  doing  it.  For  the  polite  and  flattering  terms  in  which 
you  have  expressed  their  wishes,  you  will  please  accept 
my  thanks. 

"  With  esteem  and  respect, 
"  I  am,  dear  sir, 

"  Your  most  ob't  serv't, 

"  G°.  WASHINGTON. 
"  WM.  HERBKKT,  Esquire." 

The  records  of  the  lodge,  which  are  still  extant,  ac- 
cordingly show  that  WASHINGTON  attended  as  a  Mason 
this  festival ;  and  that  its  Master,  ROBERT  ADAM,  read  to 
the  lodge  a  most  instructive  lecture  on  the  rise,  prog- 
ress, and  advantages  of  Masonry,  and  concluded  with 
a  prayer  suitable  to  the  occasion.  The  Master  and 
brethren  then  proceeded  to  Mr.  WEISE'S  tavern,  where 
they  dined ;  and  after  spending  the  afternoon  in  Ma- 
sonic festivity,  returned  again  to  the  lodge-room,  where, 
as  the  record  states,  "  The  Worshipful  Master,  with 
the  unanimous  consent  of  the  brethren,  was  pleased  to 


WASHINGTON. 


105 


admit  his  EXCELLENCY  GENERAL  WASHINGTON,  as  an 
honorary  member  of  Lodge  No.  39.  Lodge  closed  in 
perfect  harmony  at  six  o'clock." 


In  the  autumn  of  1784,  LA  FAYETTE  came  to  Ameri- 
ca, and  visited  WASHINGTON  at  Mount  Vernon.  Of  all 
the  generals  of  the  Eevolution  he  had  been  the  most 
beloved  by  WASHINGTON  ;  and  both  to  him  and  to  his 
wife  in  France  had  the  hospitalities  of  Mount  Vernon 

5* 


10G  WASHINGTON. 

been  often  tendered  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  WASHINGTON. 
Madame  LA  FAYETTE  had  wrought  with  her  own  hands 
in  France  a  beautiful  Masonic  apron  of  white  satin 
groundwork,  with  the  emblems  of  Masonry  delicately 
delineated  with  needle-work  of  colored  silk;  and  this. 
with  some  other  Masonic  ornaments,  was  placed  i::  a 
highly  finished  rose-wood  box,  also  beautified  with 
Masonic  emblems,  and  brought  to  WASHINGTON  on  this 
occasion  as  a  present  by  LA  FAYETTE.  It  was  a  com- 
pliment to  WASHINGTON  and  to  Masonry  delicately 
paid,  and  remained  among  the  treasures  of  Mount 
Vernon  till  long  after  its  recipient's  death,  when  the 
apron  was  presented  by  his  legatees  to  the  Washing- 
ton Benevolent  Society,  and  by  them  to  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Pennsylvania,  in  whose  possession  the  apron 
now  is,  while  the  box  that  contained  it  is  in  possession 
of  the  lodge  at  Alexandria.  The  apron  presented  to 
WASHINGTON  by  Messrs.  WATSON  &  CASSOUL  two  years 
before,  and  which  is  still  in  possession  of  Lodge  No. 
22  at  Alexandria,  has  been  often  mistaken  for  this ; 
but  the  two  aprons  may  be  easily  identified,  by  the 
WATSON  &  CASSOUL  apron  being  wrought  with  gold 
and  silver  tissue,  with  the  American  and  French  flags 
combined  upon  it,  while  the  LA  FAYETTE  apron  is 
wrought  with  silk,  and  has  for  its  design  on  the  front- 
let the  Mark  Master's  circle,  and  mystic  letters,  with  a 
foehive  as  its  mark  in  the  centre.  The  same  device  is 
beautifully  inlaid  on  the  lid  of  the  box  in  which  it  was 
originally  presented  to  WASHINGTON  ;  and  as  this  box 
is  also  in  possession  of  Lodge  No.  22  at  Alexandria, 
and  kept  with  the  WATSON  &  CASSOUL  apron,  it  has 
by  many  been  supposed  that  this  was  the  apron  pre- 


Yf  ASHINGTON.  1 07 

sented  in  1784  by  LA  FAYETTE.  This  mistake  has  also, 
perhaps,  been  perpetuated  by  a  statement,  that  when 
LA  FAYETTE  visited  this  lodge  during  his  visit  to 
America  in  1824,  he  was  furnished  with  the  apron 
now  in  possession  of  Lodge  No.  22,  and  in  the  box  in 
which  he  had  in  1784  presented  one  to  WASHINGTON,  to 
wear  on  the  occasion  ;  and  that  he  there  alluded  to  it 
as  the  one  he  had  in  former  years  presented  to  his  dis- 
tinguished American  brother.  Even  were  this  state- 
ment true,  a  lapse  of  forty  years .  might  have  misled 
him  in  the  identity  of  the  apron,  particularly  as  it  was 
handed  to  him  for  the  occasion  in  the  well-remembered 
box  in  which  he  had,  in  his  early  Masonic  life,  pre- 
sented one  to  WASHINGTON.  The  historic  descriptions 
of  the  aprons  leave  no  doubt  as  to  the  identity  of  each, 
and  both  are  among  the  valued  memorials  of  WASH- 
INGTON'S Masonic  history.  The  WATSON  &  CASSOUL 
sash  and  apron,  and  also  the  Masonic  box  in  which  the 
LA  FAYETTE  apron  was  presented  to  WASHINGTON,  were 
presented  to  Lodge  No.  22,  at  Alexandria,  June  3, 1812, 
by  Major  LAWRENCE  LEWIS,  a  nephew  of  WASHINGTON, 
in  behalf  of  his  son,  Master  LORENZO  LEWIS. 

During  the  interval  between  the  close  of  the  Revo- 
lution and  the  first  presidency  of  WASHINGTON,  al- 
though engrossed  with  a  multitude  of  cares,  he  was 
ever  mindful  of  the  interest  of  society  around  him, 
and  became  the  benefactor  of  the  churches  and  schools. 
The  citizens  of  Alexandria  in  1785  engaged  in  the 
erection  of  an  academy  in  that  town,  and  its  corner- 
stone was  laid  with  Masonic  ceremonies  on  the  7th  of 
September  of  that  year,  by  EGBERT  ADAM,  Master  of 
Lodge  No.  39  of  Alexandria,  assisted  by  the  brethren 


108  WASHINGTON. 

of  that  lodge.     Upon  this  stone  was  deposited  a  plate 
with  the  following  inscription. 

"  The  foundation  of  the  Alexandria  Academy  was  laid  on 
the  1th  of  September,  It 85,  in  the  ninth  year  of  the  indepen- 
dence of  the  United  States  of  North  America.  ROBERT 
ADAM,  Esquire,  Master  of  Lodge  No.  39,  Ancient  York 
Masons,  attended  by  the  brethren,  and  as  a  monument  of 
the  generosity  of  the  inhabitants,  stands  dedicated  to  them, 
and  all  lovers  of  literature." 

The  master  then  made  a  present,  in  the  name  of  the 
lodge,  of  five  dollars  to  the  workmen,  as  was  the  custom 
on  such  occasions  at  that  period.  General  WASHING- 
TON was  one  of  the  trustees  and  patrons  of  this  acad- 
emy ;  and  in  the  following  December  he  endowed  it 
with  one  thousand  pounds,  the  interest  of  which  ho 
directed  should  annually  be  appropriated  for  the  ed- 
ucation of  orphans  and  indigent  children.  The  num- 
ber who  were  the  yearly  recipients  of  this  endowment 
was  twenty ;  and  hundreds  have  thus  been  since 
aided  by  this  fund  in  fitting  themselves  for  useful  and 
honorable  stations  in  life.  The  building  still  stands 
on  the  foundation-stone  which  ROBERT  ADAM  and  his 
Masonic  brethren  laid  in  1785 ;  and  the  lapse  of  time 
and  the  devastations  of  war  have  neither  laid  it  waste 
nor  diverted  it  from  its  original  purpose. 

Masonry  was  at  that  time  fast  assuming  in  this 
country  an  independent  American  polity;  and  in  1785 
the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  State  of  New  York,  which  had 
been  chartered  as  a  Provincial  Grand  Body  while  the 
British  troops  held  possession  of  its  commercial  city, 
virtually  renounced  its  fealty  to  its  parent  head  in 


WASHINGTON.  109 

London  ;  and  under  EOBEET  E.  LIVINGSTON,  a  Grand 
Master  of  its  own  election,  it  formed  for  itself  a  new 
Book  of  Constitutions,  which  was  dedicated  to  WASH- 
INGTON as  follows : 

"To  HIS  EXCELLENCY  GEORGE  WASHINGTON,  ESQ.— In  tes- 
timony, as  well  of  his  exalted  services  to  his  country,  as  of 
his  distinguished  character  as  a  Mason,  the  following  Book 
of  Constitutions  of  the  ancient  and  honorable  Fraternity  of 
Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  by  order,  and  in  behalf  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  the  State  of  New  York,  is  dedicated. 
"  By  his  most  humble  servant, 

"  JAMES  GILES,  Grand  Secretary. 
"A.  L.,  1785." 

The  honor  of  receiving  the  dedication  of  Masonic 
publications  had  not  been  conferred  on  any  American 
Mason  previous  to  WASHINGTON  ;  and  this  was  the  third 
time  this  distinction  was  shown  him.  It  is  worthy  of 
note  in  this  sketch,  that  to  him  such  honors  were  gen- 
erally given  in  this  country  during  his  lifetime,  and 
they  were  multiplied  until  the  period  of  his  death,  both 
by  Grand  Lodges  and  individual  Masons ;  and  when 
the  acacia  had  fallen  on  his  coffin-lid,  some  Masonic 
funeral  eulogies  were  dedicated  to  Mrs.  WASHINGTON. 

The  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania  terminated  its 
provincial  existence  in  1786,  and  became  an  indepen- 
dent Grand  Body.  It  therefore  required  its  former 
subordinates  to  take  out  new  warrants  under  its  new 
organization.  No.  39  at  Alexandria  had  for  three  years 
been  working  under  the  provincial  authority  of  this 
Grand  Lodge,  although  at  the  same  time  a  Grand 
Lodge  of  rightful  jurisdiction  existed  in  Virginia. 


1 1 0  WASHINGTON. 

The  American  Masonic  rule,  of  conceding  to  each 
State  Grand  Lodge  Masonic  supremacy  in  its  own  civil 
limits,  was  not  universal  under  the  provincial  system ; 
and  it  was  no  doubt  WASHINGTON'S  frequent  intercourse 
with  the  brethren  of  Philadelphia  which  had  led  the 
Masons  of  Alexandria  to  seek  their  first  warrant  from 
the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania.  The  lodge  at 
Alexandria  did  not  renew  their  warrant  when  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania  first  became  indepen- 
dent, but  continued  until  1788  to  work  under  their  first 
authority. 

During  this  period  the  Convention  which  formed  the 
Federal  Constitution  met  in  Philadelphia.  WASHING- 
TON was  its  president,  and  many  distinguished  Masons 
were  its  members,  among  whom  was  EDMUND  RAN- 
DOLPH, Grand  Master  of  Yirginia.  As  Philadelphia 
was  at  that  time  the  most  important  Grand  East  in 
America,  there  can  be  no  doubt  but  that  the  state  of 
Masonry  in  the  new  relations  of  the  country  was  often 
discussed  there;  and  that  from  circumstances  there 
considered,  the  lodge  in  Alexandria  was  induced  soon 
after  to  change  its  fealty  from  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Pennsylvania  to  that  of  Yirginia.  Its  records  are  of 
interest  at  this  period,  and  are  as  follows : 

"  May  29,  1188. — The  lodge  proceeded  to  the  appoint- 
ment of  Master  and  Deputy  Master  to  be  recommended  to 
the  Grand  Lodge  of  Virginia,  when  GEORGE  WASHINGTON 
Esq.,  was  unanimously  chosen  Master  ;  ROBERT  McCnEA, 
Deputy  Master  ;  Wir.  HUNTER,  Jun.,  Senior  Warden  ;  JNO. 
ALLISON,  Junior  Warden. 

"  Ordered,  That   Brothers  McCRE.A,  HUNTER,  ALLISON,  and 


WASHINGTON.  Ill 

POWELL  wait  on  General  WASHINGTON,  and  inquire  of  him 
whether  it  will  be  agreeable  to  him  to  be  named  in  the  charter. 
"  Ordered,  That  Brothers  HUNTER,  Jim.,  and  ALLISON  ap- 
ply to  the  Grand  Lodge  at  Richmond  for  a  charter  for  this 
lodge,  and  that  they  be  repaid  the  expenses  attending  the 
procuring  of  it." 

"  October  25,  1788. — Motion,  made  by  Brother  HUNTER,  and 
seconded  by  Brother  SIMMS,  that  a  committee  be  appointed 
to  draw  up  a  letter  to  the  Grand  Lodge  at  Richmond, 
agreeable  to  the  former  order  of  this  lodge,  requesting  a 
new  charter  from  that  honorable  body,  and  that  Brother 
HUNTER  apply  for  the  same  at  the  expense  of  this  lodge. 
It  is  also  further  ordered,  that  Brothers  McC.REA  and  SIMMS 
be  appointed  to  write  to  the  Grand  Lodge  at  Richmond 
accordingly." 

The  records  of  the  lodge,  under  date  of  November 
22,  1788,  contain  the  following  copy  of  the  letter  writ- 
ten on  the  occasion  : 

"The  brethren  of  Lodge  No.  39,  Ancient  York  Masons, 
were  congregated,  and  have  hitherto  wrought  under  a  war- 
rant from  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania,  who  having 
since  the  Revolution  declared  themselves  independent  of 
any  foreign  jurisdiction,  arid  also  notified  us  that  it  was 
necessary  that  we  should  renew  our  warrant  under  the  new 
established  Grand  Lodge ;  the  brethren  comprising  this 
lodge,  taking  the  same  under  consideration,  and  having 
found  it  inconvenient  to  attend  the  different  communica- 
tions of  that  honorable  society  in  Philadelphia,  and  as  a 
Grand  Lodge  is  established  in  our  own  State  at  Richmond 
agreeably  to  the  ancient  landmarks,  whose  communications 
we  can  with  more  ease  and  convenience  attend,  have  at 


112  WASHINGTON. 

sundry  preceding  meetings  resolved  to  ask  your  nonorahl« 
society  for  a  new  warrant,  which  has  already  been  com- 
municated to  you  by  letter,  and  also  by  our  Brother  HUXTKR 
personally,  who  hath  obtained  an  entry  of  this  lodge  on 
your  minutes.  We  have  now  to.  observe  that  at  a  meet- 
ing of  this  lodge,  on  the  25th  instant,  it  was  unanimously 
resolved,  that  an  application  should  be  immediately  made 
by  this  lodge  to  your  honorable  society  for  a  charter, 
which  we  now  do,  and  pray  that  it  may  be  granted  to  us. 

"  It  is  also  the  earnest  desire  of  the  members  of  this 
lodge  that  our  Brother  GEORGE  WASHINGTON,  Esq.,  should  be 
named  in  the  charter  as  Master  of  the  lodge.  The  names  of 
the  other  necessary  officers  of  the  lodge  will  be  mentioned 
to  you  by  our  Brother  HUNTER." 

The  Grand  Lodge  of  Virginia,  in  accordance  with 
tins  request,  granted  a  new  warrant  to  the  lodge  at 
Alexandria,  constituting  Bro.  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  its 
first  Master  under  its  new  warrant ;  and  its  registry 
number  was  changed  from  No.  39  of  Pennsylvania,  to 
No.  22  of  Virginia.  The  following  is  a  verbatum  copy 
of  its  Virginia  warrant : 

"  EDMUND  RANDOLPH,  G.  M., 

"  To  all  and  every  to  whose  knowledge  these  presents 

shall  come,  GREETING  : 

"  Whereas  it  has  been  duly  represented  to  us,  that  in  the 
county  of  Fairfax  and  borough  of  Alexandria  in  the  Com- 
monwealth of  Virginia,  there  reside  a  number  of  the  brethren 
of  the  Society  of  Freemasons,  who  have  assembled  as  a 
lodge  agreeably  to  the  regulations  of  Masonry  by  the  title 
of  the  Alexandria  Lodge ;  and  it  appearing  to  be  for  the 
good  and  increase  of  the  Fraternity  that  the  said  bretluw 


WASHINGTON.  113 

should  be  encouraged  to  proceed  and  work,  as  heretofore 
they  have  done  in  a  regular  lodge. 

"  Know  Ye,  that  we  EDMUND  RANDOLPH,  Esquire,  governor 
of  the  Commonwealth  aforesaid  and  Grand  Master  of  the 
Most  Ancient  and  Honorable  Society  of  Freemasons,  within 
the  same,  by  and  with  the  consent  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Virginia,  do  hereby  constitute  and  appoint  our  illustrious 
and  well-beloved  Brother  GEORGE  WASHINGTON,  Esquire,  late 
general  and  commander-in-chief  of  the  forces  of  the  United 
States  of  America,  and  our  worthy  brethren  EGBERT  McCREA, 
WILLIAM  HUNTER,  Jr.,  and  JOHN  ALLISON,  Esqrs.,  together 
with  all  such  other  brethren  as  may  be  admitted  to  associate 
with  them,  to  be  a  just,  true  and  regular  lodge  of  Free- 
masons, by  the  name,  title,  and  designation  of  the  Alexandria 
Lodge  No.  22. 

"  And  further  do  hereby  appoint  and  ordain,  all  regular 
lodges  to  hold  and  acknowledge,  and  respect  them  as  such  ; 
hereby  granting  and  committing  to  them  and  their  suc- 
cessors full  power  and  authority  to  assemble  and  convene 
as  a  regular  lodge,  to  enter  and  receive  Apprentices,  paas 
Fellow  Crafts  and  raise  Master  Masons  according  to  the 
known  and  established  customs  of  Ancient  Masonry  and  NO 
otherwise  ;  and  also  to  elect  and  choose  Masters,  Wardens, 
and  all  other  officers  annually,  at  such  time  or  times  as  to 
them  shall  seem  meet  and  convenient ;  and  to  exact  from 
their  members  such  COMPOSITION  as  they  shall  judge  necessary 
for  the  support  of  their  lodge,  the  relief  of  their  brethren  in 
distress  and  contribution  towards  the  Grand  Charity  and 
agreeably  to  the  Book  of  Constitutions  and  the  laws  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Virginia  ;  and  recommending  to  the  breth- 
ren aforesaid  to  receive  and  obey  their  superiors  in  all  things 
lawful  and  honest  as  becomes  the  honor  arid  harmony  of 
Masons  ;  and  to  record  in  their  books  this  present  charter 


114  WASHINGTON. 

with  their  own  regulations  and  bye-laws,  and  their  whole 
acts  and  proceedings  from  time  to  time  as  they  occur,  and 
by  no  means  to  desert  their  said  lodge  hereby  constituted, 
or  form  themselves  into  separate  meetings,  without  the  con- 
sent and  approbation  of  their  Master  and  Wai  dens  for  the 
time  being.  All  which  by  acceptance  hereof  they  are  holden 
and  engaged  to  observe  ;  and  the  brethren  aforesaid  are  to 
acknowledge  and  recognize  the  Grand  Master  and  Grand 
Lodge  of  Virginia  as  their  superiors,  and  shall  pay  due  re- 
gard and  obedience  to  all  such  instructions  as  they  have 
received  or  hereafter  shall  receive  from  thence.  And  lastly, 
they  are  requested  to  correspond  with  the  Grand  Lodge,  and 
to  attend  the  meetings  thereof  by  their  Master  and  Wardens, 
or  their  proxies  being  Master  Masons  and  members  of  their 
said  lodge. 

"  Given  under  the  Seal  of  the  Grand  Lodge  at  Richmond 
in  the  State  of  Virginia,  the  28th  day  of  April  A.L.  5788, 
A.D.  1788. 

"  By  the  GRAND  MASTER'S  COMMAND. 

"  WILLIAM  WADDILL, 

"  Grand  Secretary, 
"Witness. 

"  WM.  WADDILL,  G.  S."  [SEAL.] 

After  the .  death  of  WASHINGTON,  this  lodge,  while 
Colonel  GEORGE  DENEALE  was  its  Master,  desired  to 
jhange  its  name  from  Alexandria  Lodge  No.  22,  to  Wash- 
ington Alexandria  Lodge  No.  22.  Its  records  therefore 
show,  under  date  of  October  11,  1804,  the  following 
resolution  : 

"  Resolved,  That  the  Worshipful  Master  of  this  lodge  apply 


WASHINGTON.  115 

to  the  Grand  Master  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Virginia  for 
permission  to  alter  the  designation  of  this  lodge  from  that 
of -the  Alexandria  Lodge  No.  22,  to  that  of  the  Alexandria 
Washington  Lodge  No.  22." 

The  following  extract  from  the  records  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Yirginia  shows  its  compliance  with  the  re- 
quest ;  and  the  memory  of  WASHINGTON  as  a  Mason,  and 
the  first  Master  of  this  lodge  under  its  Virginia  charter 
has  been  perpetuated  in  this  name. 

"  At  a  Grand  Annual  Communication  of  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  Virginia  begun  and  held  in  the  Masons'  Hall,  in  the  city 
of  Richmond,  on  the  9th  day  of  December,  Anno  Lucis  5805, 
Anno  Domini  1805. 

"Whereas,  at  the  last  Grand  Annual  Communication  a 
request  was  made  by  the  Alexandria  Lodge  No.  22  for  per- 
mission to  change  the  name  of  the  said  Lodge  to  that  of  the 
Alexandria  Washington  Lodge,  No.  22,  which  request  was 
acceded  and  a  new  charter  ordered  to  be  issued  ;  and 
whereas  this  order  did  not  meet  the  wishes  of  the  Brethren 
of  the  said  Lodge,  who  having  had  our  illustrious  Brother 
General  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  for  their  first  Master,  whose 
name  is  inserted  as  such  in  their  original  charter,  they  then 
were  and  still  are  desirous  of  preserving  their  said  charter, 
as  an  honorable  testimony  of  his  regard  for  them  and  only 
wish  to  be  permitted  by  the  Grand  Lodge  to  assume  the 
name  of  the  Alexandria  Washington  Lodge,  No.  22,  without 
changing  their  said  charter  therefor. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  said  lodge  be  permitted  to  assume  the 
said  name,  and  that  it  be  henceforth  denominated  the  Alex- 
andria Washington  Lodge,  No.  22  ;  and  that  an  authen- 


116  WASHINGTON. 

ticated  copy  of  this  resolution   be  attached   to  their  said 
charter. 

"Duly  copied  by  me  from  the  records  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Virginia,  as  witness  my  hand  and  the  seal 
of  the  said  Grand  Lodge,  this  17th  day  of  Decem- 
ber, A.L.  5805,  A.  p.  1805. 

"Wn.  H.  FITZWHYLSONN,         [SEAL.] 
"  Grand  Secretary." 

The  foregoing  records  conclusively  show,  not  only 
WASHINGTON'S  connection  with  this  lodge  while  under 
its  Pennsylvania  warrant,  but  also  that  by  the  choice 
of  his  brethren,  and  by  the  terms  of  its  Virginia  war- 
rant, he  became  its  first  Master  under  it.  If  further 
evidence  were  wanting,  it  is  found  in  the  records  of 
this  lodge  under  date  of  December  20,  1788,  which 
state  : 

"  His  Excellency,  General  WASHINGTON,  unanimously 
elected  Master ;  ROBERT  McCREA,  Senior  Warden  ;  WM 
HUNTER,  Jun.,  Junior  Warden  ;  WM.  HODGSON,  Treasurer ; 
JOSEPH  GREENWAY,  Secretary  ;  Dr.  FREDERICK  SPANBERGEN, 
Senior  Deacon  ;  GEORGE  RICHARDS,  Junior  Deacon  ;"- 

At  this  meeting  it  was  also  resolved,  that  the  breth- 
ren of  the  lodge  dine  together  on  the  27th,  and  "  that 
his  Excellency  General  WASHINGTON  be  invited."  The 
imperfect  records  of  the  lodge,  however,  leave  us  no 
account  of  the  festivities  on  that  occasion. 

From  these  interesting,  but  humble  records  of  WASH- 
INGTON'S Masonic  life,  we  turn  for  a  moment  to  the  an- 
nals of  his  public  history,  and  find  that  at  the  same 
time  he  was  directing  the  tide  of  the  mighty  events 


WASHINGTON.  117 

that  were  affecting  the  welfare  of  our  infant  republic. 
When  the  constitution  of  1787  was  submitted  to  the 
people  of  the  several  States  for  their  ratification,  he 
anxiously  watched  its  fate,  believing,  as  he  said,  that  if 
it  was  not  adopted,  the  next  one  would  be  written  in  Hood. 
When  this  corner-stone  of  the  Federal  Union  was  ac- 
cepted, and  a  master  builder  was  to  be  chosen  to 
preside  over  the  rising  temple  of  a  republican  govern- 
ment, he  looked  with  a  calm,  but  not  wishful  eye,  on 
the  position  he  might  be  called  to  fill,  and  in  the 
early  months  of  1789  again  obeyed  his  country's  man- 
date, and  exchanged  the  domestic  quiet  of  Mount 
Vernon  for  the  supreme  magistracy  of  the  Union.  We 
look  through  the  vista  of  near  fourscore  years,  and 
contemplate  WASHINGTON  as  the  unanimous  choice  of 
the  citizens  of  each  State  for  President.  He  was  in- 
deed the  unanimous  choice  of  the  States,  but  not  of 
all  the  citizens  in  them ;  and  when  the  dust  of  three- 
quarters  of  a  century  is  brushed  from  the  record-book 
of  the  oldest  lodge  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  we  find 
by  the  report  of  a  committee  of  that  lodge,  made  a  few 
years  ago  upon  its  history,  that — 

"In  the  winter  of  1788-9,  discord  and  dissension  were 
so  rife  as  to  cause  serious  disturbances  among  the  breth- 
ren, arising  from  the  political  questions  of  the  day,  when 
the  government  was  first  organized  upon  its  present  basis, 
and  Brother  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  was  elected  the  first  Pres- 
ident of  the  United  States.  It  appears  the  members  were 
pretty  equally  divided  on  the  question  of  his  election,  and 
scenes  any  thing  but  harmonious  took  place  at  the  meetings 
held  that  winter. 


118  WASHINGTON. 

"  Contention  and  strife  obtained  such  a  foothold  in  tho 
lodge,  that  at  the  first  Grand  Quarterly  Communication  of 
1789,  the  lodge  surrendered  its  warrant  to  the  Grand  Lodge. 

"Brother  WASHINGTON  was  elected  President  in  March 
1789,  and  those  brethren  who  had  advocated  his  election, 
united  in  a  petition  to  the  Grand  Lodge  for  a  return  of  the 
warrant;  and  this  was  granted  at  the  second  Grand  Quarterly 
Communication  held  in  June  of  the  same  year.  Union  and. 
harmony  now  prevailed,  and  the  lodge  prospered  in  its 
labors." 

How  strangely  an  institution  divine  in  its  ieacliings, 
thus  reveals  the  human  passions  of  its  members  ! 

But  while  such  dissensions  were  disturbing  the 
harmony  of  the  oldest  lodge  in  Philadelphia,  the  Ma- 
sonic brethren  in  New  York  were  rejoicing  on  the 
elevation  of  so  distinguished  a  brother  to  the  presi- 
dency, and  preparing  to  welcome  his  advent  to  their 
city,  which  was  then  the  Federal  capital.  Holland 
Lodge  of  New  York,  therefore,  whose  membership 
embraced  a  distinguished  class  of  citizens,  elected 
him  an  honorary  member,  and  transmitted  to  Mount 
Vernon  a  certificate  of  the  same,  as  shown  by  the  fol- 
lowing extracts  from  their  records  : 

u  HOLLAND  LODGE,  March  6,  5789. 

11  Resolved,  That  the  Worshipful  MASTER  VANDEN  BROECK, 
Senior  Warden  STAGG,  Junior  Warden  WILCOCKS,  Brothers 
BARON  STEUBEN  and  EDWARD  LIVINGSTON,  be  a  committee  to 
communicate  to  his  Excellency,  in  any  mode  they  may  deem 
most  proper,  this  proceeding  of  the  lodge." 

This  committee,  therefore,  addressed  to  WASHINGTON 


WASHINGTON.  119 

the  following  letter,  inclosing  a  certificate  of  honorary 
membership : 

"HOLLAND  LODGE, 
"NEW  YOEK,  March  7,  5789. 

"  SIR — As  a  committee  appointed  for  that  purpose,  we 
have  the  honor  of  transmitting  to  your  Excellency  the  in- 
closed certificate  from  the  Holland  Lodge. 

"  We  are  directed,  sir,  to  express  a  hope  that  the  earnest 
wishes  of  our  constituents  on  this  subject  may  not  be  dis- 
appointed ;  that  the  name  of  WASHINGTON  may  adorn  as 
well  the  archives  of  our  lodge  as  the  annals  of  our  country; 
and  that  we  may  salute  as  a  Masonic  Brother,  him  whom 
we  honor  as  the  political  father  of  our  country. 
"  We  have  the  honor,  etc., 

"  R.  J.  VANDEN  BROECK,  Master, 
"  JOHN  STAGG,  Jun.,  Senior  Warden, 
"  WILLIAM  WILCOCKS,  Junior  Warden, 

"  FRED.  DE  STEUBEN,     )  , 

;.  U  T  r  Members, 

.'  EDWARD  LIVINGSTON,    ) 

of  Holland  Lodge. 
"  His  Excellency,  GEO.  WASHINGTON,  Esq." 

For  the  benefit  of  the  curious  Masonic  reader,  we 
give  a  copy  of  this  certificate. 

"  In  the  East  the  place  of  Light,     )  f  And  the  Darkness 

Where  Peace  and  Silence  reign,  j  |  Comprehended  it  not. 

"  To  all  men  enlightened  and  spread  abroad  on  the  face  of 

the  Earth,  Greeting  : 

"We,  the  Master,  Wardens,  and  Brethren  of  Holland 
Lodge,  Ancient  Masons,  held  in  the  city  and  State  of  New 
York,  in  North  America,  do  hereby  certify  that  in  considera- 
tion of  the  Masonic  virtues  which  distinguish  our  worthy 


1 20  WASHINGTON. 

Brother  GEORGE  WASHINGTON,  he  was   unanimously  elected 
an  Honorary  Member  of  our  lodge. 

"In  testimony  whereof,   we,  the   Master   and 

Wardens,  have  hereunto  set  our  hands,  and 

L.  s.          caused  the  seal  of   the  lodge  to  be  affixed, 

this  Gth  day  of  March,  A.  D.  1789,  and  A.  M 

5789. 

"  R.  J.  VANDEN  BROECK,  Master. 
"  JOHN  STAGG,  Jun.,  Senior  Warden. 
"  WILLIAM  WILCOCKS,  Junior  Warden. 
"  Attest. 

" ,  Secretary." 

This  was  the  second  honorary  membership  conferred 
by  Masonic  lodges  on  WASHINGTON;  the  first  having 
been  conferred  by  his  own  lodge,  at  Alexandria,  pre- 
vious to  his  becoming  its  Master.  Another  honor 
was  about  the  same  time  shown  to  him  by  Masons  of 
New  York,  by  calh'ng  the  second  Chapter  of  Royal 
Arch  Masons  in  that  city  WASHINGTON  CHAPTER.  This 
Chapter  was  instituted  before  Grand  Chapters  had 
existence;  and  while  the  immemorial  usage  of  Ma- 
sonry sanctioned  those  members  of  any  lodge  who  had 
a  legal  warrant  to  meet  and  work  as  Master  Masons, 
if  they  had  also  a  knowledge  of  higher  Masonic  de- 
grees, and  suitable  members  to  work  in  them,  to  con- 
gregate as  Chapters  under  the  same  warrant,  and  thus 
extend  a  knowledge  of  the  Eoyal  Art.  The  old  Wash- 
ington Chapter  of  New  York  city  was  closely  associ- 
ated with  Holland  Lodge,  and  perhaps  was  organized 
under  the  sanction  of  its  warrant.  It,  however,  during 
the  last  decade  of  the  past  century  granted  charters  for 
Chapters  in  Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut,  and  as- 


WASHINGTON.  121 

siimecl  prerogatives  which  have  since  been  conceded 
to  Grand  Chapters.  It  is  not  known  that  WASHINGTON 
was  further  connected  with  this  Chapter  than  its  bear- 
ing his  honored  name;  nor  has  it  ever  been  shown 
from  any  record  that  he  was  a  Royal  Arch  Mason. 
The  Royal  Arch,  however,  and  various  intermediate 
degrees  being  at  that  day  conferred  under  Masters' 
"Warrants,  with  little  or  no  record  kept  of  them, 
leaves  this  a  point  which  can  probably  never  be  deter- 
mined. 

Before  WASHINGTON  left  Mount  Yernon,  in  the  spring 
of  1789,  to  repair  to  the  Federal  Capital  as  President 
elect,  he  visited  his  mother,  for  the  last  time,  at  Fred- 
ericksburg.  We  have  already  shown  his  interview 
with  her  in  1782,  after  years  of  absence  in  the  military 
service  of  his  country.  Again  he  had  come  to  say  that 
his  country  demanded  his  services,  but  that  when  the 
public  interests  permitted  he  would  return.  She  in- 
terrupted him  by  saying :  "  You  will  see  my  face  no 
more.  My  great  age,  and  the  disease  that  is  fast  ap- 
proaching my  vitals,  warns  me  that  I  shall  not  be  long 
of  this  world.  But  go,  GEOEGE,  fulfil  the  high  duties 
which  Heaven  appears  to  assign  you ;  go,  my  son,  and 
may  Heaven's  and  your  mother's  blessing  always  at- 
tend you." 

WASHINGTON  had  learned  during  his  eventful  life  to 
meet  with  composure  the  dangers  of  the  battle-field, 
the  frowns  of  adversity,  and  the  smiles  of  fortune ;  but 
the  tenderness  of  his  mother's  words,  and  the  maternal 
look  and  tone  with  which  they  were  spoken,  overcame 
every  restraint  he  had  placed  on  his  feelings ;  and  he 
leaned  his  head  upon  her  aged  shoulder  as  if  he  were 

6 


122  WASHINGTON. 

again  a  boy,  and  the  furrows  in  his  cheeks  were  wet 
with  unwonted  tears. 

The  words  of  his  mother  were  indeed  prophetic ;  for 
she  died  the  following  autumn,  and  was  buried  in  a 
spot  she  had  herself  chosen.  It  was  near  a  romantic 
ledge  of  rocks,  where  she  had  often  resorted  for  prayer ; 
and  the  sylvan  bethel,  where  a  mother's  prayers  wero 
offered  for  our  WASHINGTON,  is  now  hallowed  by  that 
mother's  grave.  What  spot  on  American  soil  should 
bo  more  sacred  than  that? 


CHAPTEE  VII. 

WASHINGTON  leaves  his  home  to  assume  the  presidency. — Public  demon- 
strations during  his  journey. — Arrives  in  New  York. — His  inauguration. — 
Chancellor  LIVINGSTON,  Grand  Master  of  New  York,  administers  to  him 
the  oath  of  office  on  Bible  of  St.  John's  Lodge. — Inscription  in  it  relating 
to  the  event. — His  inaugural  address. — Services  at  St.  Paul's  Church. — 
Other  public  ceremonials. — First  address  from  the  Senate. — President's 
title  established. — Kules  of  presidential  etiquette  established. — Public 
jealousies  thereby  aroused. — WASHINGTON  visits  the  New  England  States. 
— Incident  at  Boston. — Visit  to  Ehode  Island. — King  David's  Lodge. — 
Its  address  to  WASHINGTON. — His  reply.— His  visit  to  the  Southern  States. 
— Address  to  him  from  Grand  Lodge  of  South  Carolina. — His  reply. — Im- 
portance of  this  correspondence. — He  returns  to  Mount  Vernon. — South- 
east corner-stone  of  the  Federal  District  set  with  Masonic  ceremonies. — 
Published  account  of  it. — Jealousies  as  to  location  of  Federal  capital. 
— Its  Indian  name. — Its  present  name,  "The  City  of  Washington." — The 
name  of  WASHINGTON  often  used  geographically,  and  also  in  naming 
lodges. — Masonic  constitutions  of  Virginia  dedicated  to  WASHINGTON. — 
Proceedings  of  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania  relative  to  address  to  WASH- 
INGTON.— Copy  of  the  address. — His  reply. — Union  of  the  two  Grand 
Lodges  in  Massachusetts. — Their  new  Book  of  Constitutions  dedicated  to 
WASHINGTON. — Their  address  to  him  on  the  occasion. — His  reply. — Sword 
presented  him  by  FREDERICK  THE  GREAT. — Box  presented  by  the  Earl  of 
Buchan. 

[ASHINGTON  left  his  home  on  the  16th 
of  April,  1789,  to  repair  to  New  York. 
At  Alexandria,  at  Georgetown,  at  Balti- 
more, at  Philadelphia,  at  Trenton,  and  at 
Elizabethtown  he  was  greeted  by  crowds 
of  his  fellow-citizens,  who  publicly  honored  him  with 
festivities,  civic  decorations,  and  laudatory  addresses. 


124:  WASHINGTON. 

He  wished  to  avoid  on  the  occasion  all  ostentatious 
display;  but  the  great  heart  of  America  was  full  of 
love  for  him,  and  blessings  were  showered  upon  his 
head,  and  flowers  strown  along  his  pathway. 

These  various  public  demonstrations  are  recorded 
on  the  pages  of  our  country's  history,  and  need  not  be 
repeated  here.  It  was  as  if  he  were  passing  through 
the  spring  fields  of  a  country  where  tender  plants, 
whose  buds  had  been  crushed  by  war,  were  now  put- 
ting forth  blossoms,  to  hide  the  blood  stains  that  had 
been  left  there  during  the  War  of  the  Revolution. 

WASHINGTON  reached  New  York  on  the  23d  of  April, 
and  the  30%h  of  the  same  month  was  the  day  fixed 
for  his  inauguration.  On  that  occasion,  General  JACOB 
MORTON  was  marshal  of  the  day.  He  was  the  Master 
of  St.  John's,  the  oldest  lodge  in  the  city,  and  at  the 
same  time  Grand  Secretary  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
New  York.  General  MORTON  brought  from  the  altar 
of  his  lodge  the  Bible  with  its  cushion  of  crimson  vel- 
vet, and  upon  that  sacred  volume,  ROBERT  R.  LIVING- 
STON, Chancellor  of  the  State  of  New  York,  and  Grand 
Master  of  its  Grand  Lodge,  administered  to  WASHINGTON 
his  oath  of  office  as  President  of  the  United  States. 

Having  taken  the  oath,  WASHINGTON  reverently  bowed 
and  kissed  the  sacred  volume ;  and  the  awful  suspense 
of  the  moment  was  broken  by  Chancellor  LIVINGSTON, 
who  solemnly  said,  "  Long  Live  GEORGE  WASHINGTON, 
President  of  the  United  States/"  A  thousand  tongues  at 
once  joined  in  repeated  acclamations,  "LONG  LIVE 
GEORGE  WASHINGTON  !" 

A  memorial  leaf  of  the  sacr»d  Book  was  then  folded 
at  the  page  on  which  WASHINGTON  had  devoutly  im- 


WASHINGTON.  125 

pressed  his  lips ;  and  the  volume  was  returned  to  St. 
John's  Lodge,  and  placed  again  upon  its  sacred  altar, 
A  few  years  later  it  was  again  taken  from  its  resting 
place,  and  borne  in  a  solemn  procession  by  the  Ma- 


THE  BIBLE   ON    WHICH  WASHINGTON  TOOK  THE  OATH  OF  OFFICE,    AS  PRESIDENT. 

sonic  brethren  of  New  York  city,  who  met  to  pay 
funeral  honors  to  the  memory  of  WASHINGTON.  It  is 
still  in  possession  of  St.  John's  Lodge  No.  1,  who  value 
it  highly  as  a  sacred  memento.  The  memory  of  WASH- 
INGTON'S oath  of  office  upon  it,  is  perpetuated  by  the 
following  inscription,  beautifully  engrossed,  and  ac- 
companied by  a  miniature  likeness  from  an  engraving 
by  LENEY,  which  were  inserted  by  order  of  the  lodge. 
The  closing  poetic  lines  were  first  written  by  the  Kev. 
Dr.  HAVEN,  of  Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire,  on  WASH- 
INGTON'S visit  to  that  town  in  1789,  in  answer  to  an  in- 
quiry by  what  title  he  should  be  addressed.  The  com- 
mittee appointed  by  the  lodge  to  form  this  memorial, 
were  sworn  on  the  same  volume  to  do  it  faithfully. 


126  WASHINGTON. 


ON          rfy|  mm         TI113 

SACRED  $£m  IBP          VOLUME, 


ON  THE  30TH  DAY  OF  APE1L,  A.M.  5789,  IN  THE  CITY  OF  NEW  YOEK, 
WAS    ADMINISTERED   TO 

GEORGE  WASHINGTON, 

THE   FIEST   PRESIDENT   OF   THE    UNITED    STATES   OF   AMERICA, 

THE    OATH 

TO  SUPPORT  THE  CONSTITUTION  OF  TUE  UNITED  STATES. 


THIS   IMPORTANT   CEREMONY   WAS    PERFORMED   BY   THE   MOST 

GRAND  MASTER 

OF    FREE    AND    ACCEPTED    MASONS    OF    THE    STATE    OF    NEW  YORK, 

ROBERT  R.  LIVINGSTON, 

CHANCELLOR  OF  THE  STATE. 

"  Fame  spread  her  wings,  and  loud  her  trumpet  blew  : 
Great  WASHINGTON  is  near  !  What  praise  His  due  ? 
What  TITLE  shall  he  have?     She  paused  —  and  said, 
Not  ONE  ;  His  NAME  ALONE  STRIKES  ETERY  TITLE  DEAD!" 

Haying  taken  his  oath  of  inauguration,  WASHINGTON 
proceeded  to  the  Senate  chamber   and   delivered  his 


WASHINGTON.  127 

first  address  as  chief  magistrate  of  the  Federal  Union. 
It  was  a  reflex  of  the  principles  of  Masonry  from  the 
mind  and  the  heart  of  our  greatest  American  brother. 
He  seemed  to  imagine  himself  again  treading  the  ground 
floor  of  a  new  apartment  in  the  temple  of  human  life  ; 
and  he  modestly  reviewed  his  qualifications,  his  hopes, 
and  fears  upon  entering  it.  He  next  acknowledged  a 
Divine  Ruler  over  all  human  events,  and  humbly  in- 
voked his  guidance  and  blessing.  Was  not  this  a  re- 
membrance of  the  first  lessons  he  had  been  taught  in 
Masonry  ?  Then,  as  the  Mason  examines  the  lines  on 
his  trestle-board,  he  proceeded  to  examine  the  require- 
ments of  the  constitution,  and  the  duties  to  be  per- 
formed under  it,  and  closed  with  a  renewed  acknow- 
ledgment of  dependence  on  Divine  aid.  How  true 
was  all  this  to  the  character  of  WASHINGTON  !  How  true 
to  the  teachings  of  Masonry ! 

As  soon  as  these  ceremonies  and  duties  were  per- 
formed, President  WASHINGTON  and  both  houses  of 
Congress  proceeded  to  St.  Paul's  Church,  where  divine 
services  were  held  on  the  occasion,  and  the  evening 
was  spent  by  the  citizens  of  New  York  with  the  most 
extravagant  exhibitions  of  joy.  A  magnificent  trans- 
parent painting,  brilliantly  illuminated,  was  suspended 
between  the  fort  and  Bowling  Green,  on  the  centre 
of  which  was  represented  WASHINGTON  as  the  emblem 
of  Fortitude ;  on  his  right  hand,  the  supreme  judiciary, 
by  the  emblem  of  Justice ;  and  on  his  left,  the  supreme 
legislature,  by  the  emblem  of  Wisdom. 

The  choice  of  these  emblems  from  the  chambers  of 
Masonic  science,  and  their  appropriation  at  this  time 
to  these  purposes,  must  have  called  the  mind  of 


128 

WASHINGTON  and  his  Masonic  brethren  forcibly  back 
to  the  silent  teachings  of  these  very  emblems  in  the 
lodge-room.  Our  Federal  Government,  of  which  WASH- 
INGTON was  the  representative  head,  had  that  day 
passed  a  threshold  where  fortitude,  which  shrinks 
at  no  pain  or  danger,  is  required;  and  he  that  day 
stood,  as  he  had  long  before,  and  will  ever  be  remem- 
bered, a  personification  of  this  cardinal  Masonic 
virtue. 

It  was  not  until  the  16th  of  May,  that  answers  were 
returned  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives 
to  WASHINGTON'S  inaugural  address ;  and  on  such  pre- 
sentations, a  question  arose  between  those  bodies  as  to 
the  title  by  which  he  should  be  addressed ;  the  lower 
body  contending  that  as  the  constitution  fixed  no  title 
beyond  that  of  "  The  President"  etc.,  no  other  should 
be  used ;  while  the  Senate  preferred  to  prefix  "  Hi* 
Highness"  or  some  other  title  of  rank  to  his  name  and 
office.  The  republican  simplicity  of  the  lower  house 
prevailed,  and,  as  is  well  known,  our  presidents  have 
ever  been  addressed  without  any  addition  to  the  title 
which  the  constitution  gives  them. 

While  this  question  of  courtly  ofiicial  address  was 
occupying  the  attention  of  Congress,  a  kindred  one  of 
greater  importance  and  real  necessity  was  forced  upon 
the  decision  of  WASHINGTON.  It  was  the  etiquette  of 
presidential  receptions  of  citizens  and  strangers.  To  \ 
establish  such  rules  of  private  intercourse  as  these  de- 
manded, and  still  leave  the  President  in  command  of 
time  necessary  for  the  fulfilment  of  his  ofiicial  d*ties, 
without  encroaching  upon  the  claims  of  nature  for  rest 
and  refreshment,  was  a  delicate  duty  for  him  to  per- 


WASHINGTON.  129 

form.  There  were  those  who  believed  that  the  dignity 
of  the  presidential  office  should  be  invested  with  many 
forms  and  courtly  ceremonies ;  and  there  were  others 
who  claimed  that  the  harmony  of  our  new-born  repub- 
lican institutions  required  an  entire  abandonment  of  all 
distinction  between  the  President  and  the  people  in 
social  intercourse.  The  first  were,  perhaps,  too  fond 
of  official  show,  and  the  latter  too  anxious  for  an  unbe- 
coming agrarianism.  WASHINGTON  committed  the  de- 
tails of  presidential  etiquette  to  Colonel  DAVID  HUM- 
PHREY, who  had  been  one  of  his  aids-de-camp  during 
the  Revolution,  and  was  now  his  private  secretary. 
Colonel  HUMPHBEY  seems  to  have  happily  conceived 
appropriate  rules  and  ceremonials  for  presidential  in- 
tercourse ;  for  they  have  remained  substantially  the 
same  through  each  successive  presidency  for  three- 
quarters  of  a  century. 

We  have  already  noted  in  this  sketch  feelings  of 
jealousy  that  arose  in  certain  minds  relative  to  the  So- 
ciety of  the  Cincinnati.  These  were  again  aroused  by 
the  necessary  restrictions  that  were  placed  on  citizens 
who  sought  interviews  with  the  President.  Many 
saw  in  them  only  the  hated  forms  and  ceremonies  of 
royalty ;  and  WASHINGTON  was  by  some  denounced  as 
another  Royal  GEOKGE.  Trifling  as  such  jealousies 
and  fears  may  now  seem  to  us,  they  even  entered  into 
the  political  discussions  of  that  day  ;  and  a  letter  is 
still  extant  from  WASHINGTON  explanatory  of  the  neces- 
sity of  the  restrictions  of  the  presidential  etiquette. 

During  the  first  autumn  of  the  presidency,  WASH- 
INGTON visited  the  New  England  States  which  had 
united  in  the  Federal  Union;  and  on  his  arrival  at 

6* 


130  WASHINGTON. 

Boston,  a  misconception  seems  to  have  occurred  with 
Governor  HANCOCK,  of  Massachusetts,  as  to  the  relative 
dignity  in  the  capital  of  the  State,  of  a  visiting  Federal 
President,  or  the  governor  at  his  own  seat  of  power; 
and  he  remained  at  the  gubernatorial  mansion  await- 
ing a  formal  call  from  the  President.  WASHINGTON 
would  have  waived  all  ceremonies,  in  calling  at  the 
humblest  abode  of  a  soldier  of  the  ^Revolution ;  but  he 
would  not  compromise  the  superior  dignity  of  the  chief 
magistrate  of  the  Union,  by  first  knocking  at  the  guber- 
natorial gate.  It  was  on  Saturday  that  "WASHINGTON 
arrived  in  Boston,  and  on  the  following  Monday,  Gover- 
nor HANCOCK  yielded  the  point,  with  a  plea  of  previous 
bodily  indisposition. 

No  records  are  known  to  exist  which  contain  any 
account  of  Masonic  intercourse  between  WASHINGTON 
and  his  Masonic  brethren  in  New  York  while  he  re- 
sided there  as  President,  nor  with  the  Fraternity  in 
New  England  during  his  visit  in  1789.  In  the  follow- 
ing year  the  seat  of  the  Federal  Government  was  re- 
moved from  New  York  to  Philadelphia ;  and  when  Con- 
gress closed  its  last  session  in  New  York  in  August 
of  that  year,  WASHINGTON  visited  Khode  Island  for  the 
benefit  of  his  health.  He  was  received  at  both  New- 
port and  Providence  with  much  distinction.  There 
existed  at  that  time  in  Newport  a  lodge  of  Freemasons, 
called  King  David's  Lodge,  to  which  we  have  already 
alluded  as  having  contemplated  an  address  to  WASH- 
INGTON in  1781,  on  the  occasion  of  his  visit  to  that  city 
as  Commander-in-chief.  On  his  presidential  visit  in 
1790,  this  lodge  addressed  him  a  letter,  and  received 
the  reply  which  the  enemies  of  Masonry,  a  few  years 


WASHINGTON.  131 

ago  claimed  was  forged  long  after  his  death.  But  as 
the  records  of  the  lodge  of  that  date  shew  the  transac- 
tion ;  and  as  this  letter  from  King  David's  Lodge,  and 
WASHINGTON'S  reply  to  it,  were  both  published  in  Bos- 
ton in  1796,  while  he  was  yet  living,  in  an  authorized 
collection  of  his  various  addresses,  etc.,  to  public 
bodies,  no  doubt  can  exist  of  their  authenticity. 
The  records  state,  that, 

"  At  a  lodge,  called  by  request  .of  several  brethren  on 
Tuesday  evening,  August  17,  5790,  an  Entered  Apprentice 
Lodge  was  opened,  where  it  was  proposed  to  address  the 
President  of  the  United  States.  The  R.  W.  MOSES  SEIXAS, 
HENRY  SHERBURNE,  and  WM.  LITTLEFIELD,  secretary,  were  ap- 
pointed a  committee  for  that  purpose,  after  which  the  lodge 
closed." 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  their  letter  on  that  occa- 
sion, as  published  in  the  Boston  Collection  of  Addresses, 
in  1796,  a  copy  of  which  rare  work  we  have  before  us. 
It  contains  also  other  Masonic  letters  of  WASHINGTON, 
which  some  have  claimed  were  spurious,  and  written 
long  after  his  death.  Their  publication  during  his 
own  lifetime,  and  under  his  sanction,  falsifies  such  an 
assertion. 

"To  GEORGE  WASHINGTON,  President  of  the  United  States  of 
America : 

"  SIR — We,  the  Master,  Wardens,  and  Brethren  of  King 
David's  Lodge,  in  Ne^ort,  Rhode  Island,  joyfully  embrace 
this  opportunity  to  greet  you  as  a  brother,  and  to  hail  you 
welcome  to  Rhode  Island. 

"We  exult  in  the  thought,  that  as  Masonry  has  always 


132  WASHINGTON. 

been  patronized  by  the  wise,  the  good,  and  the  great,  so 
hath  it  stood,  and  ever  will  stand,  as  its  fixtures  are  on  the 
immutable  pillars  of  Faith,  Hope,  and  Charity. 

"With  unspeakable  pleasure  we  gratulate  you  as  filling1 
the  presidential  chair,  with  the  applause  of  a  numerous  and 
enlightened  people;  whilst  at  the  same  time,  we  felicitate 
ourselves  in  the  honor  done  the  brotherhood  by  your  many 
exemplary  virtues,  and  emanations  of  goodness  proceeding 
from  a  heart  worthy  of  possessing  the  ancient  mysteries  of 
our  Craft,  being  persuaded  that  the  wisdom  and  grace  with 
which  Heaven  has  endowed  you,  will  ever  square  all  your 
thoughts,  words,  and  actions,  by  the  eternal  laws  of  honor, 
equity,  and  truth,  so  as  to  promote  the  advancement  of  all 
good  works,  your  own  happiness,  and  that  of  mankind. 

"Permit  us  then,  illustrious  brother,  cordially  to  salute 
you  with  three  times  three,  and  to  add  our  fervent  suppli- 
cations, that  the  Sovereign  Architect  of  the  Universe  may 
always  encompass  you  with  his  holy  protection. 

"  MOSES  SEIXAS,  Hosier, 
"  HENRY  SHERBURNE, 

Committee. 
"  By  order, 

"  WM.  LITTLEFIELD,  Secretary. 

11  NEWPOKT,  August  17,  1790." 

To  tliis  truly  Masonic  greeting,  WASHINGTON  returned 
the  same  day  the  following  reply : 

"To  THE  MASTER,  WARDENS,  AND  BRETHREN  OF  KING  DAVID'S 

LODGE  IN  NEWPORT,  RHODE  ISLAND  : 

"  GENTLEMEN — I  receive  the  welcome  which  you  give  me 
to  Rhode  Island  with  pleasure ;  and  I  acknowledge  my 
obligations  for  the  nattering  expressions  of  regard  con- 
tained in  your  address  with  grateful  sincerity.  Being 


WASHINGTON.  133 

persuaded  that  a  just  application  of  the  principles  on  which 
the  Masonic  fraternity  is  founded,  must  be  productive  of 
private  virtue  and  public  prosperity,  I  shall  always  be 
naPPv  to  advance  the  interests  of  the  society,  and  to  be  con- 
sidered by  them  as  a  deserving  brother.  My  best  wishes, 
gentlemen,  are  offered  for  your  individual  happiness. 

"  G°.  WASHINGTON." 

This  is  the  earliest  presidential  Masonic  correspond- 
ence that  exists  on  record ;  and  the  succeeding  pages 
of  this  sketch  will  show,  that  no  incumbent  of  the  chair 
of  the  chief  magistrate  of  the  Union,  ever  gave  so  strong 
and  multiplied  proofs  of  his  attachment  to  Masonry  as 
WASHINGTON  ;  and  yet  many  of  them  had  also  seen 
before  reaching  that  station 

"  That  hieroglyphic  bright, 
Which  none  but  craftsmen  ever  saw." 

After  the  close  of  the  session  of  Congress  in  Phila- 
delphia in  the  winter  of  1790-1,  WASHINGTON  returned 
to  }Mount  Vernon,  and  in  the  spring  and  early  summer 
months  he  made  a  visit  as  President  to  the  Southern 
States.  On  his  arrival  in  Charleston,  in  South  Caro- 
lina, General  MORDECAI  GIST,  who  was  Grand  Master 
of  Ancient  York  Masons  there,  addressed  him  the  fol- 
lowing congratulatory  letter  as  Grand  Master,  in  be- 
half of  his  Grand  Lodge  : 

"  SIR — Induced  by  a  respect  for  your  public  and  private 
character,  as  well  as  the  relation  in  which  you  stand  with  the 
brethren  of  this  society,  we,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  State 
of  South  Carolina,  Ancient  York  Masons,  beg  leave  to  offer 
our  sincere  congratulations  on  your  arrival  in  this  State. 

"  We  felicitate  you  on  the  establishment  and  exercise  of 


WASHINGTON. 

a  permanent  government,  whose  foundation  was  laid  under 
your  auspices  by  military  achievements,  upon  which  have 
been  progressively  reared  the  pillars  of  the  free  Republic 
over  which  you  preside,  supported  by  wisdom,  strength, 
and  beauty  unrivalled  among  the  nations  of  the  world. 

"  The  fabric  thus  raised  and  committed  to  your  superin- 
tendence, we  earnestly  wish  may  continue  to  produce  order 
and  harmony  to  succeeding  ages,  and  be  the  asylum  of 
virtue  to  the  oppressed  of  all  parts  of  the  universe. 

"  When  we  contemplate  the  distresses  of  war,  the  in- 
stances of  humanity  displayed  by  the  Craft  afford  some  re- 
lief to  the  feeling  mind  ;  and  it  gives  us  the  most  pleasing 
sensation  to  recollect,  that  amidst  the  difficulties  attendant 
on  your  late  military  stations,  you  still  associated  with,  and 
patronized  the  Ancient  Fraternity. 

"Distinguished  always  by  your  virtues,  more  than  the 
exalted  stations  in  which  you  have  moved,  we  exult  in  the 
opportunity  you  now  give  us  of  hailing  you  brother  of  our 
Order,  and  trust  from  your  knowledge  of  our  institution,  to 
merit  your  countenance  and  support. 

"  With  fervent  zeal  for  your  happiness,  we  pray  that  a 
Ufe  so  dear  to  the  bosom  of  this  society,  and  to  society  in 
general,  may  be  long,  very  long  preserved  ;  and  when  you 
leave  the  temporal  symbolic  lodges  of  this  world,  may  you 
be  received  into  the  celestial  lodge  of  light  and  perfection, 
where  the  Grand  Master  Architect  of  the  Universe  presides. 

"  Done  in  behalf  of  the  Grand  Lodge. 

"M.  GIST,  G.  M. 

*•  CHAKLESTON,  2d  May,  1791." 

To  this  letter,  WASHINGTON  immediately  returned  tho 
following  reply : 

N — I  arn   much   obliged   by  tho   respect  which 


WASHINGTON.  135 

you  are  so  good  as  to  declare  for  rny  public  and  private 
character.  I  recognize  with  pleasure  my  relation  to  the 
brethren  of  your  Society,  and  I  accept  with  gratitude  your 
congratulations  on  my  arrival  in  South  Carolina. 

"Your  sentiments,  on  the  establishment  and  exercise  of 
our  equal  government,  are  worthy  of  an  association,  whose 
principles  lead  to  purity  of  morals,  and  are  beneficial  of 
action. 

"  The  fabric  of  our  freedom  is  placed  on  the  enduring 
basis  of  public  virtue,  and  will,  I  fondly  hope,  long  continue 
to  protect  the  prosperity  of  the  architects  who  raised  it.  I 
shall  be  happy,  on  every  occasion,  to  evince  my  regard  for 
the  Fraternity.  For  your  prosperity  individually,  I  offer 
my  best  wishes. 

"  G°.  WASHINGTON." 

To  understand  fully  at  this  day  the  value  and  sig- 
nificance of  this  correspondence  between  the  Grand 
Master  of  Masons  in  South  Carolina  in  behalf  of  his 
Grand  Lodge  and  General  WASHINGTON,  it  must  be 
remembered  that  General  GIST  had  been  the  friend 
and  companion  in  arms  of  General  WASHINGTON  during 
the  War  of  the  Revolution ;  and  that,  while  in  command 
of  the  Maryland  Brigade  in  1779,  he  had  held  intimate 
personal  and  Masonic  intercourse  with  him ;  had 
presided  over  a  convention  of  Masonic  brethren  in  the 
army  at  Morristown  that  desired  to  elevate  WASHING- 
TON to  the  Grand  Mastership  of  all  American  Masons ; 
had  been  constituted  by  a  warrant  from  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Pennsylvania,  Master  of  a  military  lodge  in 
his  own  brigade  ;  and  having  borne  the  trowel  and  the 
sword  together  in  many  weary  marches  and  many  well- 
fought  battles,  had,  at  the  close  of  the  war,  retired  to 


136  WASHINGTON. 

a  plantation  near  Charleston ;  and  carrying  with  him.  to 
his  Southern  home,  a  love  of  Masonry  and  a  knowledge 
of  its  kindly  influences  during  the  war,  had  established 
a  lodge  in  Charleston,  been  chosen  Grand  Master  of 
the  Ancient  York  Masons  of  South  Carolina,  and  as 
such  greeted  WASHINGTON  on  his  arrival  there,  in  their 
behalf. 

"When,  therefore,  he  said  in  his  letter  to  WASHINGTON, 
"  When  we  contemplate  the  distresses  of  war,  the  in- 
stances of  humanity  displayed  by  the  Craft  afford 
some  relief  to  the  feeling  mind ;  and  it  gives  us  the 
most  pleasing  sensation  to  recollect  that  amidst  the 
difficulties  attendant  on  your  late  military  stations,  you 
still  associated  with,  and  patronized  the  Ancient  Fra- 
ternity," he  well  knew  that  WASHINGTON  was  familiar 
with  the  instances  of  humanity  in  war  to  which  he  al- 
luded ;  nor  would  he  have  adverted  in  this  manner  to 
his  associations  with  the  fraternity  during  the  war,  had 
he  not  known  that  it  was  a  pleasing  association  to 
his  distinguished  brother  and  public  guest.  Nor  did 
WASHINGTON  fail  on  this  occasion  to  reiterate  his  often 
declared  sentiments,  that  Masonry  was  beneficial  to 
society  and  the  basis  of  public  virtue. 

WASHINGTON  returned  to  Mount  Yernon  on  the  12th 
of  June,  having  performed  a  journey  of  more  than 
seventeen  hundred  miles  in  sixty-six  days  with  his  own 
horses  and  carriage.  He  had  in  that  time  visited  each 
of  the  States  south  of  the  Potomac,  and  been  received 
by  all  classes  of  citizens  with  the  highest  honors. 

During  his  absence  his  lodge  at  Alexandria  had  per- 
formed a  public  labor,  in  the  ceremonials  of  erecting  the 
first  corner-stone  of  the  District  of  Columbia  near  that 


WASHINGTON.  137 

city.  As  this  Federal  territory  was  required,  by  an  act 
of  Congress,  to  embrace  a  district  of  country  ten  miles 
square,  lying  on  both  sides  of  the  Potomac,  WASH- 
INGTON had  appointed  commissioners  to  establish  its 
boundaries,  and  its  south-east  corner-stone  was  set  with 
Masonic  ceremonies  on  the  15th  of  April,  1791.  Its 
location  was  at  Jones'  Point  near  the  mouth  of  Hunt- 
ing Creek,  on  the  bank  of  the  Potomac,  near  where  the 
Light-house  at  Alexandria  now  stands.  The  follow- 
ing account  of  setting  this  stone  was  written  by  a 
gentleman  of  Alexandria,  and  published  in  the  United 
States  Gazette  at  Philadelphia,  April  30,  1791 : 

"ALEXANDRIA,  April  21,  1791. 

"  On  Friday,  the  15th  instant,  the  Hon.  DANIEL  CARROLL 
and  Hon.  DAVID  STEUART  arrived  in  this  town  to  superintend 
the  fixing  of  the  first  corner-stone  of  the  Federal  District. 

"  The  mayor  and  commonalty,  together  with  the  members 
of  the  different  lodges  of  the  town,  at  three  o'clock  waited  on 
the  commissioners  at  Mr.  WEISE*S,  where  they  dined ;  and 
after  drinking  a  glass  of  wine  to  the  following  sentiment — 
viz.,  '  May  the  stone  which  we  are  about  to  place  in  the 
ground,  remain  an  immovable  monument  of  the  wisdc.m  and 
unanimity  of  North  America' — the  company  proceeded  to 
Jones'  Point  in  the  following  order  : 

"  1st.  The  Town  Sergeant. 

"  2d.  Hon.  DANIEL  CARROLL  and  the  Mayor. 

"  3d.  Mr.  ELLICOTT  and  the  Recorder. 

"  4th.  Such  of  the  Common  Council  and  Aldermen  as  were 
not  Freemasons. 

"5th.  Strangers. 

"  6th.  The  Master  of  Lodge  No.  22,  with  Dr.  DAVID  STEU- 


138  WASHINGTON. 

ART  on  his  rig'ht,  and  the  Rev.  JAMES  MUIR  sn  his  left,  fol- 
lowed by  the  rest  of  the  Fraternity  in  their  usual  form  of 
procession. 

"  Lastly.  The  citizens,  two  by  two. 

"When  Mr.  ELLICOTT  had  ascertained  the  precise  point 
from  which  the  first  line  of  the  district  was  to  proceed,  the 
Master  of  the  lodge  and  Dr.  STEUART,  assisted  by  others  of 
their  brethren,  placed  the  stone.  After  which  a  deposit  of 
corn,  wine,  and  oil  was  made  upon  it,  and  the  following  ob- 
servations were  made  by  the  Rev.  JAMES  MUIR  : 

"  'Of  America  it  may  be  said,  as  of  Judea  of  old,  that  it  is 
a  good  land  and  large, — a  land  of  brooks  of  waters,  of  foun- 
tains, and  depths  that  spring  out  of  the  valleys  and  hills, — 
a  land  of  wheat,  and  barley,  and  vines,  and  fig-trees,  and 
pomegranates, — a  land  of  oil,  olives,  and  honey, — a  land 
wherein  we  eat  bread^without  scarceness,  and  have  lack  of 
nothing, — a  land  whose  stones  are  iron,  and  out  of  whose 
hills  thou  mayest  dig  brass, — a  land  which  the  LORD  thy  GOD 
careth  for  ; — the  eyes  of  the  LORD  thy  GOD  are  always 
upon  it,  from  the  beginning  of  the  year  even  unto  the  end 
of  the  year. 

"  '  May  Americans  be  grateful  and  virtuous,  and  they  shall 
insure  the  indulgence  of  Providence.  May  they  be  unani- 
mous and  just,  and  they  shall  rise  to  greatness.  May 
true  patriotism  actuate  every  heart.  May  it  be  the  devout 
and  universal  wish  :  Peace  be  within  thy  walls,  0  America, 
and  prosperity  within  thy  palaces.  Amiable  it  is  for  breth- 
ren to  dwell  together  in  unity ;  it  is  more  fragrant  than  the 
perfumes  on  Aaron's  garment ;  it  is  more  refreshing  than 
the  dews  on  Hermon's  Hill. 

"  'May  this  stone  long  commemorate  the  goodness  of  GOD 
in  those  uncommon  events  which  have  given  America  a 


WASHINGTON.  139 

name  among  nations.  Under  this  stone  may  jealousy  and 
selfishness  be  forever  buried.  From  this  stone  may  a  super- 
structure arise,  whose  glory,  whose  magnificence,  whose 
stability,  unequalled  hitherto,  shall  astonish  the  world,  and 
invite  even  the  savage  of  the  wilderness  to  take  shelter 
under  its  roof/ 

"  The  company  partook  of  some  refreshments,  and  then 
returned  to  the  place  from  whence  they  came,  where  a  num- 
ber of  toasts  were  drank  ;  and  the  following  was  delivered 
by  the  Master  of  the  lodge  (Dr.  DICK),  and  was  received 
with  every  token  of  approbation  : 

' '  BRETHREN  AND  GENTLEMEN — May  Jealousy,  that  green- 
eyed  monster,  be  buried  deep  under  the  work  which  we  have 
this  day  completed,  never  to  rise  again  within  the  Federal 
District/ 

"  It  may  fairly  be  presumed  that  this,  or  a  similar  senti- 
ment pervaded  the  breast  of  every  individual  present  on  the 
occasion." 

These  Masonic  incidents  are  of  interest,  not  only  to 
the  personal  history  of  WASHINGTON,  but  to  both  the 
general  and  Masonic  history  of  those  times.  It  is  well 
known  that  WASHINGTON  directed  the  tide  of  events 
that  established  the  seat  of  the  Federal  Government  on 
the  Potomac ;  and  that  when  the  act  was  being  passed 
for  its  location  there,  jealousies  were  aroused  within 
the  district  on  the  subject  of  its  boundaries,  and  the 
location  of  its  public  buildings.  Georgetown  and  Alex- 
andria were  both  rivals  for  the  honors  and  advantages 
incident  to  their  location ;  and  when  WASHINGTON  gave 


140  WASHINGTON. 

his  influence  for  placing  the  Capitol  on  the  north  side 
of  the  Potomac,  he  yielded  his  private  interest  to  allay 
all  Northern  jealousies  as  to  its  location.  But  the  sen- 
timent in  Alexandria  was  adverse  to  this ;  and  it  was 
befitting  Masonry,  in  the  character  of  WASHINGTON'S 
own  lodge,  to  perform  the  ceremonials  in  the  first  pub- 
lic act  of  establishing  the  boundaries  of  the  Federal 
District.  Her  voice  was  then,  as  it  ever  is,  "  Let  public 
jealousies  be  forever  buried."  Would  that  her  voice 
were  always  heeded ! 

The  future  seat  of  the  Federal  Government  had  at 
that  time  no  name,  and  Mr.  WOLCOTT,  of  Connecticut, 
facetiously  termed  it,  "  The  Indian  place,  with  the  long 
name  on  the  Potomac,"  in  reference  to  its  Indian  name 
having  been  Conecogeague.  It  was  at  first  called  "  The 
Federal  City,"  and  WASHINGTON  thus  styled  it  in  a 
letter  written  April  13,  1791 ;  but  the  commissioners 
appointed  to  superintend  the  laying  out  of  the  city, 
had  employed  Major  L'ENFANT,  a  French  architect,  to 
form  plans  and  drawings  of  it ;  and  in  a  letter  to  him, 
bearing  date  September  9,  1791,  they  informed  him 
that  they  had  agreed  that  the  Federal  District  should 
be  called  "The  Territory  of  Columbia,"  and  the  Federal 
City,  "  The  City  of  Washington,"  and  directed  him  to 
thus  designate  them  on  his  maps. 

No  baptismal  name  could  have  been  more  appro- 
priate for  the  Federal  city  than  that  of  Washington. 
It  had  already  been  geographically  used  in  naming  a 
county  in  Virginia  in  1776,  and  one  or  two  military  points 
may  have  borne  the  name  at  an  earlier  period.  Towns 
and  counties  without  number  have  since  borne  this 
honored  name ;  and  the  Masonic  Fraternity  have  re- 


WASHINGTON.  141 

membered  their  great  American  patron  in  adopting 
liis  name  for  their  organizations  in  a  multitude  of  in- 
stances. A  curious  research  in  Masonic  nomenclature 
will  show,  that  every  grand  jurisdiction  has  that  name 
as  designating  some  of  her  subordinate  Masonic  or- 
ganizations. It  was  first  thus  used  in  1778,  by  a  lodge 
in  the  Massachusetts  line  of  the  army ;  and  a  curious 
instance  of  WASHINGTON'S  memory  being  honored  by  a 
lodge-name,  was  by  a  lodge  of  Masons  in  North  Caro- 
lina, which  had  borne  the  name  of  the  "  Royal  George" 
while  that  State  was  a  colony  of  England,  changing  it 
to  the  "American  George"  after  the  Revolution. 

During  the  summer  of  1791,  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Virginia  published  the  first   edition  of  her  Book  of 
Constitutions,  or  Neiv  Aliiman  Rezon  as  it  was  called, 
and  dedicated  it  to  WASHINGTON  as  follows  : 
• 

"To  GEORGE  WASHINGTON,  Esq.,  President  of  the  United 
States  of  America,  the  following  work  is  most  respectfully 
dedicated  by  his  obedient  and  devoted  servant, 

"THE  EDITOR." 

During  the  same  year,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsyl- 
vania renewed  its  testimonials  of  respect  for  WASHING- 
TON, by  directing  that  an  address  be  presented  to  him 
from  that  body,  as  seen  by  the  following  extracts  from 
its  records : 

"DEOEMBEE  27,  1791. 

"  The  Rev^  Brother  Dr.  SMITH  and  the  Right  Worshipful 
Grand  Officers  were  appointed  a  committee  to  prepare  an 
address  to  our  illustrious  Brother  GEORGE  WASHINGTON, 


142  WASHINGTON. 

President  of  the  United  States.     Lodge  adjourned  to  the  2d 
day  of  January  next  to  receive  the  report  of  the  committee." 

"JANUARY  2,  J792. 

"  The  minutes  of  St.  John's-day  being  read  as  far  as  re- 
lates to  the  appointment  of  a  committee  to  prepare  an  address 
to  our  illustrious  Brother  GEORGE  WASHINGTON,  the  Rev. 
Brother  Dr.  WILLIAM  SMITH,  one  of  the  said  committee,  pre- 
sented the  draft  of  one,  which  was  read  ;  whereupon,  on  mo- 
tion and  seconded,  the  same  was  unanimously  approved  of, 
and  resolved,  that  the  Right  Worshipful  Grand  Master  and 
Deputy  Grand  Master  and  Grand  Officers,  with  Brother 
SMITH,  be  a  committee  to  present  the  said  address  in  behalf 
of  this  Right  Worshipful  Grand  Lodge,  signed  by  the  Right 
Worshipful  Grand  Master,  and  countersigned  by  the  Grand 
Secretary." 


,  1792. 

"  The  Right  Worshipful  Grand  Master  informed  the  breth- 
ren, that  in  conformity  to  the  resolve  of  this  Grand  Lodge, 
he  had,  in  company  with  the  Grand  Officers  and  the  Rev. 
Brother  Dr.  SMITH,  presented  the  address  to  our  illustrious 
Brother  GEORGE  WASHINGTON,  and  had  received  an  answer, 
which  was  read.  Whereupon,  on  motion  and  seconded,  re- 
solved unanimously,  that  the  said  address  and  the  answer 
thereunto  shall  be  entered  on  the  minutes." 

With  these  prefatory  extracts  from  the  records  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania,  we  give  the  address  and 
WASHINGTON'S  reply  as  therein  recorded.  Both  were  also 
published  in  the  United  States  Gazette  at  Philadelphia, 
January  2,  1792,  which,  together  with  the  *ecord,  fixes 
their  date  as  that  day.  The  address  was  presented  to 


WASHINGTON.  143 

WASHINGTON  in  person  by  a  committee  of  the  Grand 
Lodge,  with  the  Grand  Master  at  its  head,  which  ac- 
counts for  the  omission  of  date  to  these  documents  : 

"To  GEORGE  WASHINGTON, 

President  of  the  United  States : 

"  SIR  AND  BROTHER — The  Ancient  York  Masons  of  the 
jurisdiction  of  Pennsylvania,  for  the  first  time  assembled  in 
General  Communication  to  celebrate  the  feast  of  St.  John  the 
Evangelist  since  your  election  to  the  chair  of  government 
of  the  United  States,  beg  leave  to  approach  you  with  con- 
gratulations from  the  East,  and,  in  the  pride  of  fraternal 
affection,  to  hail  you  as  the  great  master-builder  (under  the 
Supreme  Architect),  by  whose  labors  the  temple  of  liberty 
hath  been  reared  in  the  West,  exhibiting  to  the  nations  of 
the  earth  a  model  of  beauty,  order,  and  harmony,  worthy  of 
their  imitation  and  praise. 

"  Your  knowledge  of  the  origin  and  objects  of  our  insti- 
tution— its  tendency  to  promote  the  social  affections  and 
harmonize  the  heart — give  us  a  sure  pledge  that  this  tribute 
of  our  veneration,  this  effusion  of  love,  will  not  be  un- 
grateful to  you  ;  nor  will.  Heaven  reject  our  prayer,  that 
you  maybe  long  continued  to  adorn  the  bright  list  of  master 
workmen  which  our  Fraternity  produces  in  the  terrestrial 
lodge  ;  and  that  you  may  be  late  removed  to  that  celestial 
lodge  where  love  and  harmony  reign  transcendent  and 
divine ;  where  the  Great  Architect  more  immediately  pre- 
sides, and  where  cherubim  and  seraphim  wafting  our  con- 
gratulations from  earth  to  heaven  shall  hail  you  brother  I 

"  By  order  and  in  behalf  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, in  General  Communication  assembled  in  ample  form. 
[L.  s.]  "  J.  B.  SMITH,  G.  M. 

"Attest:  P.  LE  BAEBIEB  Du  PLESSIS,  G.  Sec." 


114  WASHINGTON". 

To  tliis  address.  WASHINGTON  returned  the  following 
written  reply : 

"To  THE  ANCIENT  YORK  MASONS  OF  THE  JURISDICTION  OF  PENN- 
SYLVANIA : 

i 

"  GENTLEMEN  AND  BROTHERS — I  receive  your  kind  coiigrat 
illation  with  the  purest  sensations  of  fraternal   affectior 
and  from   a  heart  deeply  impressed  with  your  genemu 
wishes  for  my  present  and  future  happiness,  I  beg  you  to 
accept  my  thanks. 

"At  the  same  time  I  request  you  will  be  assured  of  my 
best  Wishes  and  earnest  prayers  for  your  happiness  while 
you  remain,  in  this  terrestrial  mansion,  and  "that  we  may 
hereafter  meet  as  brethren  in  the  celestial  temple  of  the  Su- 
preme Architect. 

"  G°.  WASHINGTON." 

WASHINGTON'S  residence  was  at  that  time  in  Phila- 
delphia, and  it  was  at  the  presidential  mansion  in  that 
city  that  this  address  was  presented.  We  know  not 
that  while  there  during  his  presidency,  he  participated 
in  the  ritualistic  labors  of  the  lodge-room;  but  the 
Masonic  records  of  the  Fraternity  in  that  city  state 
that  they  were  often  made  the  almoners  of  his  bounty 
to  those  in  distress.  Charity  was  ever  one  of  his  dis- 
tinguished Masonic  characteristics. 

Masonry  was  at  that  time  undergoing  in  this  country 
one  of  those  silent,  yet  constant  changes  that  have 
ever  marked  its  progress  without  disturbing  its  grand 
design.  Its  Cyclopean,  its  Egyptian  walls — perhaps 
antediluvian  in  their  designs— had  long  been  in  ruins. 
The  trestle-board  of  its  masters  had  since  borne  de- 
signs of  Tyrian,  of  Greek,  and  of  Roman  skill ;  and 


WASHINGTON.  145 

these  too  had  taken  their  place  among  memorials  of 
the  past  in  the  archives  of  Masonry.  Our  fathers,  as 
Anglo-Saxon  colonists,  had  brought  with  them  to  this 
country  its  more  modern  external  forms;  and  two 
divided  schools  of  design,  each  with  cunning  masters 
and  faithful  workmen,  had  endeavored  to  perpetuate 
forms  in  mystic  architecture,  which  at  most  could 
claim  no  higher  antiquity  than  a  Norman  or  an  Eliza- 
bethan age.  For  the  purposes  of  our  sketch,  we  may 
therefore  consider  the  ceremonies  and  polity  of  Ma- 
sonry, which  were  introduced  into  America  about  the 
third  decade  of  the  last  century  under  HENRY  PRICE,  at 
Boston,  as  of  the  modern  or  Elizabethan  school ;  while 
those  practised  a  few  years  later  under  JOSEPH  WARREN, 
by  the  self-styled  Ancients,  might  be  called  the  Nor- 
man features  of  Anglo-Saxon  Freemasonry.  Both 
were  agreed  in  angular  lines ;  they  only  differed  in 
those  of  curvature.  WASHINGTON  had  been  familiar 
with  both  these  systems.  He  had  been  made  a  Mason 
under  the  first,  and  afterwards  became  affiliated  under 
the  second.  The  veil  which  separated  the  bands  of 
American  workmen  under  each  of  these  systems  was 
rent  in  twain  in  Massachusetts  in  1792,  and  a  Book  of 
Constitutions  published  for  the  government  of  the 
United  Grand  Lodge  of  that  jurisdiction,  which,  by 
direction  of  that  Grand  Body,  bore  the  following  dedi- 
cation to  WASHINGTON  : 

"  In  testimony  of  his  exalted  merit,  and  our  inalienable 
regard,  this  work  is  inscribed  and  dedicated  to  our  illus- 
trious BROTHER  GEORGE  WASHINGTON,  the  friend  of  Masonry, 
of  his  Country,  arid  of  Man." 

7 


146  WASHINGTON.  , 

It  svas  a  quarto  volume,  and  besides  the  Masonic 
Constitutions  of  Massachusetts,  it  contained  much  of 
historic  interest  to  Masonry,  and  was  published  for  the 
Grand  Lodge  by  ISAIAH  THOMAS,  aftenvards  Grand 
Master  of  that  State,  and  author  of  the  "  History  of 
Pi- in  tiny"  By  resolution  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  a  copy 
of  this  book  was  presented  to  WASHINGTON,  accom- 
panied by  the  following  address.  The  resolution  bore 
date  December  27th,  and  the  address  29th,  1792  : 

"  THE  GRAND  LODGE  OF  FREE  AND  ACCEITKD  MASONS  FOI:  THE 
COMMONWEALTH  OF  MASSACHUSETTS,  TO  THEIR  HONORED 
AND  ILLUSTRIOUS  BROTHER  GEORCIB  WASHINGTON,  PRESI- 
DENT OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  : 

'  SIR — Whilst  the  historian  is  describing  the  career  of  your 
glory,  and  the  inhabitants  of  an  extensive  empire  are  made 
happy  in  your  unexampled  exertions — while  some  celebrate 
the  Hero,  so  distinguished  in  liberating  United  America, 
and  others  the  Patriot  who  presides  over  her  councils — a 
band  of  brothers,  having  always  joined  the  acclamations  of 
their  countrymen,  now  testify  their  respect  for  those  milder 
virtues  which  have  ever  graced  the  man. 

"  Taught  by  the  precepts  of  our  Society  that  all  its  mem- 
bers stand  upon  a  level,  we  venture  to  assume  this  station, 
and  to  approach  you  with  that  freedom  which  diminishes 
our  diffidence  without  lessening  our  respect. 

"  Desirous  to  enlarge  the  boundaries  of  social  happiness, 
and  to  vindicate  the  ceremonies  of  their  institution,  this 
Grand  Lodge  have  published  a  '  Book  of  Constitutions/  and 
a  copy  for  your  acceptance  accompanies  this,  which,  by  dis- 
covering the  principles  that  actuate,  will  speak  the  eulogy 
of  the  Society ;  though  they  fervently  wish  the  conduct  of 
its  members  may  prove  its  higher  commendation. 


WASHINGTON.  147 

"  Convinced  of  his  attachment  to  its  cause,  and  readiness 
to  encourage  its  benevolent  designs,  they  have  taken  the 
liberty  to  dedicate  this  work  to  one,  the  qualities  of  whose 
heart,  and  the  action  of  whose  life,  have  contributed  to  im- 
prove personal  virtue,  and  extend  throughout  the  world  the 
most  endearing  cordialities  ;  and  they  humbly  hope  he  will 
pardon  this  freedom,  and  accept  the  tribute  of  their  esteem 
and  homage. 

"May  the  Supreme  Architect  of  the  Universe  protect 
and  bless  you,  give  length  of  days  and  increase  of  felicity 
in  this  world,  and  then  receive  you  to  the  harmonious  and 
exalted  Society  in  heaven. 

"  JOHN  CUTLER,  Grand  Master 
"JosiAH  BARTLETT, 


,  Grand  Wardens. 
"  MUNGO  MACKAY, 

"  BOSTON,  December  29,  A.L.  5792." 

To  this  address,  WASHINGTON  returned  the  following 
reply,  both  of  which  were  published  during  his  life- 
time in  a  volume  of  his  speeches  and  addresses,  issued 
in  Boston,  to  which  allusion  has  been  already  made : 

"  To  THE  GRAND  LODGE  OR  FREE  AND  ACCEPTED  MASONS  OF  THE 
COMMONWEALTH  OF  MASSACHUSETTS  : 

"  GENTLEMEN — Flattering  as  it  may  be  to  the  human  mind, 
and  truly  honorable  as  it  is  to  receive  from  our  fellow- 
citizens  testimonials  of  approbation  for  exertions  to  promote 
the  public  welfare,  it  is  not  less  pleasing  to  know  that  the 
milder  virtues  of  the  heart  are  highly  respected  by  a  society 
whose  liberal  principles  are  founded  in  the  immutable  laws 
of  truth  and  justice. 

"  To  enlarge  the  sphere  of  social  happiness  is  worthy  the 
benevolent  design  of  the  Masonic  Institution,  and  it  is  most 


148  -WASHINGTON. 

fervently  to  be  wished  that  the  conduct  of  every  member  of 
the  Fraternity,  as  well  as  those  publications  that  discover 
the  principles  which  actuate  them,  may  tend  to  convince 
mankind  that  the  grand  object  of  Masonry  is  to  promote  the 
happiness  of  the  human  race. 

"  While  I  beg  your  acceptance  of  my  thanks  for  the  '  Book 
of  Constitutions'  which  you  have  sent  me,  and  for  the  honor 
you  have  done  me  in  the  dedication,  permit  me  to  assure  you 
that  I  feel  all  those  emotions  of  gratitude  which  your  affec- 
tionate address  and  cordial  wishes  are  calculated  to  inspire. 
And  I  sincerely  pray,  that  the  Great  Architect  of  the  Uni- 
verse may  bless  you  here,  and  receive  you  hereafter  in  his 
immortal  Temple. 

"  G°.  WASHINGTON." 

But  it  was  not  from  Masons  in  his  own  country  alone 
that  WASHINGTON,  at  this  period  of  his  life,  received  tes- 
timonials of  distinguished  consideration.  Frederic 
the  Great,  of  Prussia,  who  was  at  the  head  of  Masonry 
in  continental  Europe,  sent  him  an  elegant  sword  with 
a  complimentary  inscription;  and  the  Earl  of  Buchan, 
who  was  Grand  Master  of  Scotland  from  1782-1785, 
sent  him  also  a  curious  box  made  of  wood  from  the 
oak-tree  that  sheltered  Sir  WILLIAM  WALLACE  after  his 
defeat  at  the  battle  of  Falkirk.  These,  though  not 
strictly  Masonic,  but  illustrate  the  sentiment  of  Ma- 
sonry, that, 

"  GOD  hath  made  mankind  one  mighty  brotherhood, 
Himself  their  Master,  and  the  world  their  Lodge." 


CHAPTEK  VIII. 

WASHINGTON  re-elected  President. — Lays  the  corner-stone  of  the  Capitol.— 
Placed  at  the  southeast  corner. — Accounts  of  the  procession  and  cere- 
monies, as  given  by  the  newspapers  of  that  day. — Address  of  JOSEPH 
CLARKE,  Grand  Master  pro  tern,  on  that  occasion. — WASHINGTON'S  partici- 
pation as  a  Mason  in  these  ceremonies  justly  a  part  of  our  public  history. 
— Gave  strength  to  the  illusion  that  he  was  officially  General  Grand  Master 
of  the  United  States. — WASHINGTON'S  Masonic  portrait  in  Alexandria. — 
Eecords  of  Lodge  No.  22  relating  to  it. — Inscription  on  the  back  of  it. — 
Its  sash  and  apron  represent  those  presented  him  by  LA  FAYETTE. — 
WASHINGTON'S  farewell  address. — His  allusion  in  it  to  secret  political 
societies. — Attempts  lotjg  after  his  death  to  make  these  denunciations  ap- 
ply to  Masonry. — Extracts  from  records  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsyl- 
vania relative  to  address  to  WASHINGTON. — Copy  of  the  address.— His 
reply. — The  inconsistency  of  the  claim  that  he  repudiated  his  Masonic 
connection. — His  feelings  when  about  to  retire  to  private  life. — His  last 
presidential  dinner. — Inauguration  of  Mr.  ADAMS. — WASHINGTON'S  vale- 
dictory.— Affecting  scene  on  that  occasion. 

|ASHINGTON  desired  to  return  again  to 
private  life  at  the  close  of  his  first  presi- 
dential term,  but  having  been  unani- 
mously re-elected,  he  yielded  to  the 
public  wish  and  the  strong  solicitations 
of  his  friends,  and  again  accepted  the  presidency.  His 
second  inauguration  took  place  in  the  Senate  chamber 
in  Philadelphia,  on  the  4th  of  March,  3  793.  Judge 
GUSHING,  of  Massachusetts,  administered  to  him  the 
oath  of  office. 
On  the  18th  of  September  of  that  year  7? VJHNGTON 


150  WASHINGTON. 

laid  the  corner-stone  of  the  Capitol  of  the  United  States, 
in  the  city  that  bore  his  name.  It  was  laid  at  the 
southeast  corner  of  the  edifice,  it  being  the  custom  of 
our  Masonic  fathers  to  place  it  at  that  point,  and  not 
at  the  northeast  as  at  present.  The  following  account 
of  the  ceremonies  on  the  occasion  was  published  in  the 
newspapers  of  that  day. 

"GEOBGETOWN,  September  21,  1793. 

''  On  Wednesday  one  of  the  grandest  Masonic  processions 
took  place,  for  the  purpose  of  laying  the  corner-stone  of  the 
Capitol  of  the  United  States,  which,  perhaps,  was  ever  ex- 
hibited on  the  like  important  occasion.  About  ten  o'clock, 
Lodge  No.  9  was  visited  by  that  congregation  so  graceful 
to  the  Craft,  Lodge  No.  22  of  Virginia,  with  all  their  oftiwrs 
and  regalia  ;  and  directly  afterwards  appeared  on  the 
southern  banks  of  the  grand  river  Potomac,  one  of  the 
finest  companies  of  volunteer  artillery  that  hath  been  lately 
seen,  parading  to  receive  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
who  shortly  came  in  sight  with  his  suit,  to  whom  the  artil- 
lery paid  their  military  honors  ;  and  his  Excellency  and  suit 
crossed  the  Potomac,  and  was  received  in  Maryland  by  the 
officers  and  brethren  of  No.  22  Virginia,  and  No.  9  Mary- 
land, whom  the  President  headed,  preceded  by  a  band  of 
music  ;  the  rear  brought  up  by  the  Alexandria  volunteer 
artillery,  with  grand  solemnity  of  march,  proceeded  to  the 
President's  square,  in  the  city  of  Washington,  where  they 
were  met  and  saluted  by  No.  15  of  the  City  of  Washington 
in  all  their  elegant  badges  and  clothing,  headed  by  Brother 
JOSEPH  CLARKE,  lit.  W.  G.  M.,  P.  T.,  and  conducted  to  a  large 
lodge  prepared  for  the  purpose  of  their  reception.  After  a 
short  space  of  time,  by  the  vigilance  of  Brother  CLOTWORTHY 
STEPHENSOX,  Grand  Marshal  P.  T.,  the  brotherhood  and 


WASHINGTON. 


151 


other  bodies  were  disposed  in  a  second  order  of  procession, 
which  took  place  amidst  a  brilliant  crowd  of  spectators  of 
both  sexes,  according  to  the  following  arrangement,  viz. : 


"  The  Surveying  Department  of  the  City  of  Washington  ; 

"  Mayor  and  Corporation  of  Georgetown  ; 

"  Virginia  Artillery  ; 

"Commissioners  T>f  the  City  of  Washington    and    I  hoi; 

attendants. 

"  Stone-cutters.     Mechanics. 
"The  Sword-bearer. 


152  •  WASHINGTON. 

"  Masons  of  the  first  degree. 

"  Bible,  etc.,  on  Grand  Cushions. 

"  Deacons,  with  staffs  of  office. 

"  Masons  of  the  second  degree. 

"  Stewards,  with  wands. 

"  Masons  of  the  third  degree. 

"  Wardens,  with  truncheons. 

11  Secretaries,  with  tools  of  office. 

"  Past  Masters,  with  their  regalia. 

"  Treasurers,  with  their  jewels. 

"Band  of  music. 

"  Lodge  No.  22  of  Virginia,  disposed,  in  their  own  order. 

"  Corn,  Wine,  and  Oil. 

"  Grand  Master  pro  tern.,  Brother  GEORGE  WASHINGTON,  and 

Worshipful  Master  of  No.  22  of  Virginia, 
"  Grand  Sword-bearer. 

"The  procession  marched  two  abreast,  in  the  greatest 
solemn  dignity,  with  music  playing,  drums  beating,  colors 
flying,  arid  spectators  rejoicing,  from  the  President's  square 
to  the  Capitol  in  the  City  of  Washington,  where  the  Grand 
Marshal  ordered  a  halt,  and  directed  each  file  in  the  proces- 
sion to  incline  two  steps,  one  to  the  right  and  one  to  the 
left,  and  face  each  other,  which  formed  a  hollow  oblong 
square,  through  which  the  .Grand  Sword-bearer  led  the  van, 
^  followed  by  the  Grand  Master  P.  T.  on  the  left,  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  in  the  centre,  and  the  Worshipful 
Master  of  No.  22  Virginia  on  the  right ;  all  the  other  orders; 
that  composed  the  procession  advanced  in  the  reverse  of  their 
order  of  march  from  the  President's  square  to  the  southeast 
corner  of  the  Capitol,  and  the  artillery  filed  off  to  a  destined 
ground  to  display  their  manoeuvres  and  discharge  their  can- 
non ;  the  President  of  the  United  States,  the  Grand  Master 


WASHINGTON.  153 

P.  T.,  and  the  Worshipful  Master  of  No.  22  taking  their 
stand  to  the  east  of  a  large  stone,  and  all  the .  Craft 
forming  a  circle  westward,  stood  a  short  time  in  awful 
order. 

"  The  artillery  discharged  a  volley.  The  Grand  Marshal 
delivered  the  commissioners  a  large  silver  plate  with  an 
inscription  thereon,  which  the  commissioners  ordered  to  be 
read,  and  was  as  follows  : 

"  '  This  Southeast  corner-stone  of  the  Capitol  of  the  United 
States  of  America,  in  the  City  of  Washington,  was  laid  on 
the  18th  day  of  September,  1793,  in  the  thirteenth  year  of 
American  independence,  in  the  first  year  of  the  second  term 
of  the  presidency  of  GEORGE  WASHINGTON,  whose  virtues  in 
the  civil  administration  of  his  country  have  been  as  con- 
spicuous and  beneficial,  as  his  military  valor  and  prudence 
have  been  useful  in  establishing  her  liberties,  and  in  the 
year  of  Masonry,  5793,  by  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  in  concert  with  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Maryland, 
several  lodges  under  its  jurisdiction,  and  Lodge  No.  22 
from  Alexandria,  Virginia. 

" '  THOMAS  JOHNSON,  DAVID  STEUART,  and  DANIEL  CARROLL, 
Commissioners  ;  JOSEPH  CLARKE,  K.  W.  "G.  M.,  P.  T.  ;  JAMES 
HOBAN  and  STEPHEN  HALLATE,  Architects  ;  COLLIN  WILLIAM- 
SON, M.  Mason/ 

"  The  artillery  discharged  a  volley.  The  plate  was  then 
delivered  to  the  President,  wl^,  attended  by  the  Grand 
Master  P.  T.,  and  three  most  Worshipful  Masters,  descended 
to  the  cavazion  trench  and  deposed  the  plate,  and  laid  it 
on  the  corner-stone  of  the  Capitol  of  the  United  States  of 
America,  on  which  was  deposed  Corn,  Wine,  and  Oil,  when 
the  whole  congregation  joined  in  reverential  prayer,  which 


WASHINGTON. 


was  succeeded  by  Masonic  chanting  honors,  and  a  volley 
from  the  artillery. 

"  The  President  of  the  United  States  and  his  attendant 
brethren  ascended  from  the  cavazion  to  the  east  of  the 
corner-stone  ;  and  there  the  Grand  Master  P.  T.,  elevated  on 
a  triple  rostrum,  delivered  an  oration  fitting1  the  occasion, 
which  was  received  with  brotherly  love  and  commendation. 
At  intervals,  during  the  delivery  of  the  oration,  several 
volleys  were  discharged  by  the  artillery.  The  ceremony 
ended  in  prayer,  Masonic  chanting  honors,  and  a  15-volley 
from  the  artillery. 

"The  whole  company  retired  to  an  extensive  booth,  where 
an  ox  of  500  Ibs.  weight  was  barbecued,  of  which  the  com- 
pany generally  partook,  with  every  abundance  of  other 
recreation.  The  festival  concluded  with  fifteen  successive 
volleys  from  the  artillery,  whose  military  discipline  and 
manoeuvres  merit  every  commendation.  Before  dark  the 
whole  company  departed  with  joyful  hopes  of  the  produc- 
tion of  their  labor." 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  address  of  JOSEPH 
CLARKE  on  the  occasion,  who  acted  as  Grand  Master 
pro  tern,  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Maryland,  in  the  Ma- 
Bonic  jurisdiction  of  which  the  Federal  Capitol  was 
built: 

"My  WORTHY  BRETHREN  —  I  presume  you  expect  I  shall  in 
some  measure  address  yotupn  this  very  important  occasion, 
which  I  confess  is  a  duty  incumbent  upon  me,  although  quite 
inadequate  to  the  task,  and  entirely  unprepared  ;  for  until 
high  meridian  yesterday,  I  was  not  solicited,  neither  had  I 
a  conception  to  have  performed  this  duty.  Therefore  you 
will  accept  my  observations  with  brotherly  love;  they  are,  1 


WASHING-TON.  155 

assure  you,  sincere,  and  dictated  by  a  pure  Masonic  heart, 
though  very  brief. 

Volley  from  the  Artillery. 

"Brothers,  I  beg'  leave  to  disclose  to  you  that  I  have,  and 
I  expect  that  you  also  have,  every  hope  that  the  grand  work 
we  have  done  to-day  will  be  handed  down,  as  well  by 
record  as  by  oral  tradition,  to  as  late  posterity  as  the  like 
work  of  that  ever  memorable  Temple  to  our  order  erected 
bj  our  Grand  Master  Solomon. 

Volley  from  the  Artillery. 

•  "  The  work  we  have  done  to-day,  laying  the  corner-stone 
of  this  designed  magnificent  temple,  the  Capitol  of  our  ex- 
tensive and  populous  States  of  veteran  republicans,  States 
which  were  recovered,  settled,  and  permanently  established 
by  the  virtuous  achievements  and  bravery  of  our  most 
illustrious  Brother  GEORGE  WASHINGTON — 

Volley  from  the  Artillery. 

"  I  say,  that  we  further  hope  that  this  work  may  be  re- 
membered for  many  ages  to  come,  as,  a  similar  wort;  has 
from  the  commencement  of  time  to.  this  remarkable  mo- 
ment ;  I  mean,  the  work  of  laying  the  corner-stone  of  our 
ancient,  honorable,  arici  sublime  order. 

Volley  from  the  Artiliery. 

11  We  also,  hope  that  the  Grand  Architect  of  all  men,  Free- 
masons and  others,  may  continue  His  great  gifts  of  ability 
to  all  those  concerned,  to  persevere  in  raising,  not  only  on 
this  particular  corner-stone,  bu,t  on  every  other  corner-stone 
already  planted  in  this  extensive  site  for  a  commercial 
Federal  city — edifices  so  durable  with  strength  and  beauty, 


156  WASHINGTON. 

that  with  common  care  and  nurture,  they  may  not  envy 
time.  And  we  further  hope  that  the  edifices  which  may  he 
erected  in  this  territory  of  Columbia,  may  be  numerously 
inhabited  with  citizens,  to  merit  every  commendation  for 
their  virtue,  honor,  bravery,  industry,  and  arts. 
• 

Volley  from  the  Artilleiy. 

"  And  1  hope  that  our  super-excellent  order  may  here  be 
indefatigably  laborious,  not  only  to  keep  in  good  repair  our 
hallowed  dome,  but  be  incessantly  industrious  to  adorn  it 
with  the  grand  theological  virtues,  faith,  hope,  and  charity, 
and  embellish  it  with  wisdom,  strength,  and  beauty. 

Volley  from  the  Artillery. 

"My  dear  brethren,  it  would  be  ungrateful,  indeed  1 
think  impossible,  on  this  occasion  not  to  notice,  under  the 
auspices  of  our  most  glorious  divine  Providence,  the  growth 
of  this  extensive  city,  in  so  short  a  period,  by  the  assiduous, 
indefatigable  labor  and  industry  of  all  those  very  valuable 
characters  for  virtue,  honor,  industry,  and  ability,  who  have 
had  not  only  the  supreme  command,  but,  in  every  grade. 

Volley  from  the  Artillery. 

"  Brothers,  permit  me  to  suggest  to  your  good  under- 
standings, if  so  much  can  be  done  by  the  local  assistance 
of  two-fifteenths  of  these  vast  States,  by  such  an  eminent 
Leader,  excellent  Director,  Architects,  Surveyors,  and  Me- 
chanics, what  ought  we  to  conceive  will  be  done  by  them, 
when  aided  by  the  remaining  thirtcen-fifteenths,  who  will 
set  to  work  with  willing  and  powerful  hands,  not  in  a  local 
and  sparing,  but  in  an  infinite  and  loving  mariner  1  And  in 
addition  thereto,  an  universality  of  individuals,  like  in- 


WASHINGTON.  157 

numerable  hives  of  bees  bestowing  their  industrious  labor 
on  this  second  paradise. 

Volley  from  the  Artillery. 

"  Then,  my  dear  brethren,  Architecture,  Masonry,  Arts, 
and  Commerce  will  grow  with  rapidity  inconceivable  to  me  ; 
therefore  incomparable.  Brethren,  although  I  have  neither 
wishes  nor  pretensions  to  divination,  yet  I  venture  to 
prophesy,  from  such  intuitive  sense,  that  all  I  have  sug- 
gested to  you  will  soon,  come  to  pass  ;  when  we  shall  all 
hail,  'Blessed  Territory  of  Columbia,— favored  land,  soon, 
very  soon,  indeed,  shall  the  shores  of  thy  peaceful  and  de- 
lightful city  be  visited  by  the  commercial  interests  of  the 
united  world  ;  then  happy  thy  sons,  and  thrice  happy  those 
whose  prudence  and  foresight  have  induced  them  to  become 
thy  citizens* ! 

Volley  from  the  Artillery. 

"  It~must,  my  dear  brethren,  be  evident  to  all  our  under- 
standings, that  not  only  nature,  but  Providence,  have 
marked  their  intentions  in  the  most  indelible  manner,  to  make 
the  seat  for  the  GRAND  MARK,  the/  super-excellent  emporium 
for  Politics,  Commerce,  Arts,  and  Industry  of  the  United 
States, — seated  in  the  very  centricity  of  our  Republic,  on 
the  banks  of  one  of  the  noblest  rivers  in  the  Universe,  suffi- 
ciently capacious  to  erect  thereon  a  city  equal,  if  not  su- 
perior in  magnitude,  to  any  in  the  world.  It  boasts,  but 
then  very  truly,  a  climate  the  most  serene  and  salubrious  ; 
equal  of  accession  to  all  the  cardinal  and  intermediate 
points,  as  any  place  that  kind  nature  has  formed,  even  be- 
yond conception  of  art,  wanting  no  defence,  but  what  is  in, 
and  ever  will  be  in,  I  trust,  the  intrepidity  and  bravery  of 
its  founder  and  citizens. 

Volley  from  the  Artillery. 


1 58  WASHINGTON. 

"Although  it  is  not  the  growth  of  years,  yet  there  id 
alre  i-ly  planted  in  this  garden  or  nurr.cry  of  the  Arts,  and 
hath  blossomed  numerous  flowers,  that  bloom  with  high 
lustre  in  their  various  departments  (not  to  mention  its  ever- 
to-be-remembered  founder),  but  its  financiers,  conductors, 
projectors,  delineators,  and  executive  geniuses  without 
number,  and  many  of  them  not  only  brethren  of  onr  order, 
but  brothers  of  superior,  excellent,  ;md  suMimc  estimation. 

}'(illri/  from  //</?  Ailiflcry. 

"Certainly,  my  dear  "brethren,  it  must  be  as  grateful  to 
you,  as  it  is  to  me,  to  possess  the  great  pleasure  of  toying 
the  corner-stone,  which  we  hope,  expect,  and  sincerely  pray 
to  produce  innumerable  corner-stones  ;  and  that  on  every 
one  of  them  may  spring  edifices,  we  fervently  pray  to  the 
Great  Grand  Master  of  heaven,  earth,  and  all  things,  of 
Hie  immense  wisdom,  strength,  goodness,  and  mercy,  to 
grant.  So  mote  it  be." 

WASHINGTON,  although  holding  at  this  time  no  official 
rank  in  Masonry,  except  that  of  Past  Master  of  Lodge 
No.  22,  at  Alexandria,  clothed  himself  for  the  occasion 
with  an  apron  and  other  insignia  of  a  Mason,  and,  as 
the  foregoing  account  shows,  was  honored  with  the 
chief  place  in  the  procession  and  ceremonies.  The 
gavel  which  he  used  on  the  occasion  was  ivory,  and  is 
now  in  possession  of  Lodge  No.  9,  at  Georgetown,  which 
was  represented  by  its  officers  and  members  in  the 
procession.  No  act  of  WASHINGTON  was  more  historic 
than  this,  and  yet  it  has  found  no  place  on  the  pag*s 
of  our  country's  history.  It  was  he  who  was  first  in 
the  hearts  of  all  men,  honoring  Masonry  by  his  pres- 


WASHINGTON.  159 

ence  as  a  brother,  and  sanctioning  by  his  participation 
as  the  chief  actor  in  its  highest  public  ceremonies,  its 
claims  as  an  institution  worthy  of  national  confidence 
and  regard.  And  yet  the  compilers  of  our  country's 
annals  have  ignored  the  fact,  or  left  it  unrecorded  on 
their  pages,  until  their  silence  has  been  made  to  testify 
that  W WASHINGTON  disdained  to  publicly  avow  himself  a 
Mason.  But  he  stood  on  that  occasion  before  his 
brethren  and  the  world  as  the  representative  of  SOLO- 
MON of  old,  who,  the  Jewish  historian  says,  "  laid  the 
foundation  of  the  Temple  very  deep  in  the  ground ; 
and  the  materials  were  strong  stones,  and  such  as 
would  resist  the  force  of  time."  Those  who  would  blot 
the  record  of  the  mystic  labors  of  WASHINGTON,  would 
blush  at  the  memory  of  one  wiser  than  he. 

There  is  no  doubt  but  that  this  was  one  of  the  Ma- 
sonic incidents  in  WASHINGTON'S  history  which  aided  in 
establishing  and  perpetuating  the  illusion  that  he  was  the 
official  General  Grand  Master  of  the  United  States  ;  and 
yet,  as  we  have  already  stated,  such  an  office  in  Ameri- 
can Masonry  is  only  a  historic  fiction.  Many  Ameri- 
can brethren  have  at  various  times  advocated  such  a 
centralization  of  Masonic  power  and  dignity;  but  to 
WASHINGTON  only  has  been  accorded  the  worthiness  to 
hold  it.  He  lived  and  died  the  patron  par  excellence  of 
American  Masonry ;  and  her  voice  as  spoken  by  her 
orators  on  public  occasions,  her  muse  as  breathed  in 
her  songs  and  festive  toasts,  have  sometimes  appro- 
priated to  him  a  proposed,  but  never  invested  title. 
When  another  WASHINGTON  shall  enroll  his  name  upon 
our  American  records,  and  engrave  his  virtues  upon 
our  hearts,  perhaps  then,  but  not  till  then,  will  all  ac- 


160  WASHINGTON. 

cord  united  Masonic  homage  to  a  General  American 
Grand  Master. 

There  is  a  striking  representation  of  the  features  and 
person  of  WASHINGTON  at  this  period  of  his  life,  and 
perhaps  the  Masonic  dress  that  he  wore  at  the  laying 
of  the  corner-stone  of  the  Capitol,  still  in  possession  of 
his  old  lodge,  No.  22,  at  Alexandria.  We  have  given 
an  accurate  copy  of  this  almost  unknown  original  por- 
trait of  WASHINGTON  at  the  commencement  of  this 
volume,  and  we  trust  the  following  extracts  from  the 
old  records  of  Alexandria  Lodge  will  justify  us  in  so 
doing : 

"August  29,  1793. — ELISHA  C.  DICK,  Master.  The  Wor- 
shipful Master  informed  the  lodge  that  he  convened  them  in 
consequence  of  an  offer  of  Mr.  WILLIAMS  to  compliment  them 
with  the  portrait  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  pro- 
vided they  make  application  to  him  (the  President)  for  that 
purpose  ;  and  upon  taking  into  consideration  the  proposal 
of  Mr.  WILLIAMS,  they  determined  that  the  following-  address, 
signed  by  the  officers  of  the  lodge,  be  immediately  for- 
warded to  our  illustrious  Brother,  the  President  of  the 
United  States." 

We  regret  much  that  we  are  unable  to  give  the  letter 
or  address,  as  the  above  record  calls  it,  of  the  lodge  to 
WASHINGTON,  and  his  reply ;  but  they  are  not  recorded, 
nor  do  we  know  that  they  are  preserved,  or  any  copies 
of  them  in  existence.  That  the  application  met  with 
a  favorable  response  is  seen  from  the  following  tether 
extracts  from  the  records  : 

"  October  25,  1794.— Mr.  WILLIAMS  having  offered  to  the 


WASHINGTON.  161 

lodge  a  drawing  of  our  worthy  Brother  GEORGE  WASHING- 
TON, President  of  the  United  States,  the  same  is  received  ; 
and  in  consequence  of  the  trouble  and  expense  Mr.  WILLIAMS 
was  at  in  going  to  and  coming  from  Philadelphia,  it  is  pro- 
posed that  the  members  of  the  lodge  pay  him  fifty  dollars, 
to  be  .raised  by  voluntary  subscription.  Brother  GILLIS 
having  offered  to  receive  the  subscriptions,  a  list  of  the 
members,  both  town  and  country,  is  presented  him  for  that 
purpose." 

"November  22,  1194. — Received  and  read  a  letter  from 
Mr..  WILLIAMS,  portrait  painter,  praying  for  further  compen- 
sation for  painting  the  President's  picture.  Ordered  to  lie 
over  till  next  lodge-night,  or  until  the  Worshipful  Master 
returns." 

"December  20,  1194. — A  letter  from  Mr.  WILLIAMS  was 
read,  praying  (as  stated  last  lodge-night)  a  further  com- 
pensation for  drawing  the  President's  picture.  The  lodge 
are  of  opinion  that  in  the  sum  of  fifty  dollars  paid  him,  he  has 
received  full  compensation  for  the  same.  The  lodge,  more- 
over, consider  the  fifty  dollars  already  paid  him  a  mere 
gratuity,  inasmuch  as  application  was  made  to  the  Presi 
dent  to  sit  for  his  portrait  at  the  request  of  Mr.  WILLIAMS, 
who  proposed,  should  the  application  be  successful,  to  com- 
pliment them  with  his  portrait,  promising  himself  great  pecu- 
niary advantages  by  the  sale  of  copies.  The  lodge  having 
taken  into  consideration  the  propriety  of  paying  the  fifty 
dollars  for  the  President's  picture  by  voluntary  subscrip- 
tion, have  resolved  the  same  shall  be  paid  out  of  the  funds 
of  the  lodge." 

On  the  back  of  the  canvas  is  the  following  inscrip- 
tion, apparently  in  the  handwriting  of  Mr.  WILLIAMS  : 


it>  2  WASHINGTON. 

"His  Excellency  GEORGE  WASHINGTON,  Esquire,  President 

of  ih<>  I'nilrd  Slates.  A;jvd  (U.  WILLIAMS,  7V//./-/Y  u<1  rinnu 
in  Philadelphia,  Scpk'inU-r  18,  1794." 

This  portrait  was  placed  in  an  ejegant  gilt  frame, 
and  Lung  upon  the  walls  of  the  lodge-room.  Its  collar 
and  jewel  are  those  of  a  Past  Master,  a  rank^which 
WASHINGTON  held  in  his  lodge  ;  and  its  sash  and  apron 
represent  those  presented  to  him  by  Messrs.  WATSON 
&  CASSOUL. 

'  WASHINGTON'S  second  term  of  the  presidency  was 
now  drawing  to  a  close,  and  he  deemed  it  his  duty 
publicly  to  announce  to  his  fellow-citizens  his  deter- 
mination to  retire  from  public  life.  He  accordingly,  in 
the  summer  of  1796,  prepared,  while  at  Mount  Yernou, 
his  Farewell  Address,  which  he  caused  to  be  published 
in  the  Philadelphia  Advertiser  in  September  of  that 
year.  No  document  ever  came  from  the  pen  of  an 
American  statesman  with  words  of  more  profound 
wisdom  ;  and  it  has  ever  been  regarded  as  the  richest 
legacy  which  WASHINGTON  bestowed  on  the  citizens  of 
America.  It  was  widely  circulated  by  public  printers  ; 
legislative  bodies  ordered  it  enrolled  on  their  journals, 
and  it  has  come  down  to  us  as  sacred  as  any  writings 
from  an  uninspired  pen. 

In  contemplating  the  then  existing  state  of  Ameri- 
can society,  and  the  dangers  in  introducing  and  culti- 
vating principles  of  foreign  growth,  WASHINGTON  had, 
in  allusion  to  certain  political  societies  in  Europe 
which  were  seeking  to  propagate  their  pernicious  doc- 
trines by  secret  organizations  for  political  purposes, 
cautioned  his  fellow-citizens  to  beware  of  them.  As 


WASHINGTON.  1 63 

In  later  years  a  set  of  political  zealots  attempted  to 
torture  liis  expression  of  "  beware  of  secret  societies," 
into  a  denunciation  against  the  Masonic  institution,  it 
will  be  only  necessary  for  the  candid  reader  to  see  that 
such  an  idea,  with  such  facts  as  we  have  already  given 
in  "WASHINGTON'S  Masonic  history,  and  such  as  will 
follow  unto  the  close  of  this  sketch,  could  not  have 
been  conceived  by  him,  or  so  understood  by  his  fellow- 
citizens  at  that  day. 

The  address  was  published  in  Philadelphia  in  Sep- 
tember, and  on  the  5th  of  the  following  December,  at 
an  extra  Grand  Communication  of  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  Pennsylvania,  in  the  same  city,  its  records  state — 

"  A  committee  was  appointed  to  form  an  address  to  be 
presented  on  the  ensuing  feast  of  St.  John,  December  21,  to 
the  Great  Master  Workman,  our  illustrious  Brother  WASH- 
INGTON, on  the  occasion  of  his  intended  retirement  from  pub- 
lic labors,  to  also  be  laid  before  the  said  Grand  Lodge  on 
St.  John's  day ;  and  the  Right  Worshipful  Grand  Master, 
Deputy  Grand  Master,  and  Brothers  SADLER,  MILXOR,  and 
WILLIAMS  were  accordingly  appointed." 

December  27,  1796. — St.  John's  day,  the  records 
state — 

"The  committee  to  prepare  an  address  to  our  Brother 
GEORGE  WASHINGTON,  President  of  the  United  States,  pre- 
sented an  address  by  them  drawn  up,  which  was  ordered  to 
be  read. 

"It  was  then  moved  and  seconded,  that  the  same  be 
adopted ;  and  upon  the  question  being  taken,  it  appeared 
that  it  was  approved  of. 


1G4:  WASHINGTON. 

"  On  motion  and  seconded,  it  was  agreed  that  a  committee 
be  appointed  to  wait  on  Brother  WASHINGTON  to  acquaint 
him  that  it  is  the  intention  of  this  Grand  Lodge  to  present 
an  address  to  him,  and  to  know  at  what  time  he  shall  bo 
pleased  to  receive  it. 

"The  committee  appointed  to  perform  this  duty  were 
Brothers  WILLIAM  SMITH,  PETER  LA  BARBIER  DDPLESSIS,  and 
THOMAS  PROCTOR,  who  after  having  waited  on  him,  reported 
that  he  had  appointed  to-morrow  at  twelve  o'clock  to  receive  it. 

"The  committee  —  to  wit,  Brothers  WILLIAM  SMITH,  Du- 
PLESSIS,  and  PROCTOR  —  together  with  the  Right  Worshipful 
Grand  Master,  Deputy  Grand  Master,  Senior  and  Junior 
Grand  Wardens,  Grand  Secretary,  and  the  Masters  of  th<? 
different  lodges  in  the  city,  were  then  appointed  a  deputa 
tion  to  present  the  said  address." 


At  the  time  appointed  this  grand  committee 
WASHINGTON  at  his  residence,  where  the  following  ad- 
dress was  presented  in  writing,  and  his  written  reply 
was  soon  afterwards  returned  : 

"  To  GEORGE  WASHINGTON,  President  of  the  United  States  : 

"  MOST  RESPECTED  SIR  AND  BROTHER  —  Having  announced 
your  intention  to  retire  from  public  labor  to  that  refresh- 
ment to  which  your  pre-eminent  services  for  near  half  a 
century  have  so  justly  entitled  you,  permit  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  Pennsylvania  at  this  last  feast  of  our  Evangelic  Master, 
St.  John,  on  which  we  can  hope  for  immediate  communica- 
tion with  you,  to  join  the  grateful  voice  of  our  country  in 
acknowledging  that  you  have  carried  forth  the  principles  of 
the  lodge  in  every  walk  of  your  life,  by  your  constant  labor 
for  the  prosperity  of  that  country  ;  by  your  unremitting  en- 
deavors to  promote  order,  union,  and.  brotherly  affection 


WASHINGTON.  165 

amongst  us  ;  and,  lastly,  by  the  views  of  your  farewell  ad- 
dress, which  wo  trust  our  children's  children  will  ever  look 
upon  as  a  most  valuable  legacy  from  a  friend,  a  benefactor, 
and  a  father. 

"  To  these  our  grateful  acknowledgments  (leaving  to  the 
pen  of  history  to  record  the  important  events  in  which  you 
have  borne  so  illustrious  a  part),  permit  us  to  add  our 
most  fervent  prayers,  that  after  enjoying  to  the  utmost 
span  of  human  life,  every  felicity  which  the  terrestrial  lodge 
can  afford,  you  may  be  received  by  the  Great  Master 
Builder  of  this  world,  and  of  worlds  unnumbered,  into  the 
ample  felicity  of  that  celestial  lodge,  in  which  alone  dis- 
tinguished virtues  and  distinguished  labors  can  be  eternally 
rewarded. 

"  By  the  unanimous  order  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Penn- 
sylvania. 

"WILLIAM  MOORE  SMITH,  G.  M. 
"December  27,  Anno  Lucis  5796." 

The  original  of  the  following  reply  in  WASHINGTON'S 
handwriting  is  still  in  the  archives  of  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  Pennsylvania : 

"FELLOW-CITIZENS  AND  BROTHERS  OF  THE  GRAND  LODGE  OP 
PENNSYLVANIA— I  have  received  your  address  with  all*  the 
feelings  of  brotherly  affection,  mingled  with  those  senti- 
ments for  the  society,  which  it -was  calculated  to  excite. 

"  To  have  been  in  any  degree  an  instrument  in  the  hands 
of  Providence  to  promote  order  and  union,  and  erect  upon  a 
solid  foundation  the  true  principles  of  government,  is  only 
to  have  shared,  with  many  others,  in  a  labor,  the  result  of 
which,  let  us  hope,  will  prove  through  all  ages  a  sanctuary 
for  brothers,  and  a  lodge  for  the  virtues. 

"  Permit  me  to  reciprocate  your  prayers  for  my  temporal 
happiness,  and  to  supplicate  that  we  may  all  meet  there- 


166  U'ASIIINGTOX. 

,-ifter,  in   Unit  eternal   temple,  whoso   builder  is  tin)  Great 

Architect  of  the  Universe. 

"G°.  WASHINGTON." 

Let  those  commentators  on  WASHINGTON'S  Farewell 
Address,  who  would  torture  his  caution  to  "  beware  of 
secret  societies"  into  an  allusion  to  Freemasonry,  place 
this  record,  which  was  made  but  a  few  months  after  it, 
by  its  side,  and  they  will  see  how  erroneous  and  un- 
just their  conclusions  have  been.  With  such  a  foreign 
idea  banished  from  the  mind,  the  reader,  to  understand 
fully  the  import  of  this  correspondence  between  WASH- 
INGTON and  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania,  and  the 
Farewell  Address,  must  remember  that  the  closing 
scenes  of  his  administration  were  so  embittered  with 
party  strife,  that  when  the  subject  of  a  reply  to  his 
last  address  to  the  House  of  Representatives  was  be- 
fore that  body,  some  of  its  members  opposed  the  com- 
mon courtesies  that  were  due  to  the  retiring  President. 
The  members  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania 
were  mostly  residents  of  the  city  where  such  base  in- 
gratitude was  manifested  for  the  past  services  oi 
WASHINGTON,  and  probably  belonged  to  both  of  the 
political  parties  of  that  day.  But  as  Masons  they  rose 
above  the  warfare  of  politicians,  and  tendered  to  him 
their  grateful  acknowledgments  for  his  past  services, 
leaving  (to  use  their  own  significant  language)  "to 
the  pen  of  history  to  record  the  important  events  in 
which  he  had  borne  so  illustrious  a  part."  WASHING- 
TON'S reply  shows  that  he  fully  appreciated  their  kind 
sentiments.  How  ardently  he  sought  rest  at  this 
period  from  his  public  labors  may  be  seen  from  a  let- 
ter written  to  his  friend,  and  Masonic  Brother,  General 


WASHINGTON.  167 

KNOX,  two  days  before  his  retirement  from  the  presi- 
dency. To  him  he  could  confide  the  most  sacred  feel- 
ings of  a  Mason's  heart ;  and  it  is  singular  to  remark 
in  all  his  epistolary  correspondence  that  the  tenderest 
effusions  of  his  pen  were  for  those  friends  who  were 
bound  to  him  by  the  ties  of  Masonic  -brotherhood.  On 
this  occasion  he  says  : 

"  To  the  wearied  traveller  who  sees  a  resting-place,  and  is 
bending  his  body  to  lean  thereon,  I  now  compare  myself ; 
but  to  be  suffered  to  do  this  in  peace,  is  too  much  to  be 
endured  by  some.  To  misrepresent  my  motives,  to  reprobate 
my  politics,  and  to  weaken  the  confidence  which  has  been 
reposed  in  my  administration,  arc  objects  which  cannot  be 
relinquished  by  those  who  will  be  satisfied  with  nothing 
short  of  a  change  in  our  political  system.  The  consolation, 
however,  which  results  from  conscious  rectitude,  and  the 
approving  voice  of  iny  country,  unequivocally  expressed  by 
its  representatives,  deprives  their  sting  of  its  poison,  and 
place  in  the  same  point  of  view,  the  weakness  and  malig- 
nity of  their  efforts." 

The  closing  scene  of  WASHINGTON'S  administration 
was  on  the  4th  of  March,  1797.  Upon  the  day  previous 
he  had  given  his  last  presidential  dinner,  at  which 
many  official  dignitaries  and  personal  friends  were 
present.  On  this  occasion  when  the  cloth  was  re- 
moved, he  took  a  glass  of  wine,  and  raising  it  to  his 
lips,  said:  "  Ladies  and  gentlemen,  this  is  the  last  time 
I  shall  drink  your  health  as  a  public  man.  I  do  it  with 
sincerity,  wishing  you  all  possible  happiness."  There 
was  profound  silence  when  this  toast  was  drank,  and 
tears  stained  the  cheeks  of  many  guests  at  the  farewell 
dinner  of  WASHINGTON. 


168  WASHINGTON. 

WASHINGTON'S  administration  closed  on  the  following 
day,  and  Mr.  ADAMS  was  inaugurated  his  successor. 
On  this  occasion  he  publicly  appeared  for  the  last  time 
as  President,  and  having  introduced  Mr.  ADAMS  to  the 
assemblage  before  him,  he  read  to  them  a  brief  vale- 
dictory which  he  had  prepared.  His  parting  words 
met  with  responsive  sobs  from  the  audience,  and  his 
own  great  heart  swelled  with  emotions  till  the  tears  fell 
from  his  cheeks.  As  he  retired  from  the  scene  before 
him,  he  was  followed  by  a  multitude  of  citizens,  all 
eager  to  catch  the  last  look  of  one  they  loved  so  well. 
At  his  own  door  he  turned  to  express  his  acknowledg- 
ment to  the  people ;  but  his  voice  failed  him,  and  it 
was  only  by  a  wave  of  his  hand  that  he  could  convey 
%  farewell  blessing. 


CHAPTEE  IX. 

WASHINGTON"  leaves  Philadelphia  and  returns  to  Mount  Veruon.  —  Engages 
in  domestic  pursuits.—  Letter  to  General  KNOX.—  Eeceives  address  from 
Grand  Lodge  of  Massachusetts.—  His  reply.—  Receives  letter  from  Master 
of  his  own  lodge  inviting  him  to  an  entertainment.  —  Accepts  it.  —  Ac- 
count of  this  entertainment  as  published  at  the  time.  —  His  employments. 

>—  Unpleasant  position  of  France  towards  our  Government.  —  WASHINGTON 
appointed  commander  of  the  provisional  army.  —  Letter  to  him  from  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Maryland,  with  copy  of  Constitutions.  —  His  reply.  — 
Public  mind  excited  by  the  writings  of  BARRUEL  and  EOBISON  on  the 
subject  of  Illuminism.  —  Attempts  made  to  implicate  Masonry  with  it.  — 
Eev.  Mr.  SNYDER  sends  WASHINGTON  "  proofs  of  a  conspiracy."  —  Copy 
of  accompanying  letter  from  Mr.  SNYDER.  —  WASHINGTON'S  reply.  —  Mr. 
SNYDER  writes  him  a  second  letter.  —  His  reply.  —  Contents  of  these 
letters  considered.  —  Other  clergymen  seek  to  alarm  the  public  in  regard  to 
Masonry.—  Grand  Lodge  of  Massachusetts  address  a  letter  to  President 
ADAMS.  —  His  reply.  —  Grand  Lodges  of  Vermont  and  Maryland  also  write 
letters  to  Mr.  ADAMS,  to  which  he  replies.  —  Extract  from  letter  of  Grand 
Lodge  of  Maryland  to  Mr.  ADAMS.  —  Extract  from  his  reply.  —  Eev.  Mr. 
MORSE  qualifies  his  sermon  when  published.  —  France  assumes  a  more 
pacific  attitude.  —  WASHINGTON'S  last  celebration  of  his  birthday  at  Mount 
Vernon.—  Marriage  of  his  adopted  daughter.—  His  birthday  anniver- 
saries became  National  holidays.  —  Also  Masonic  holidays.  —  Dr.  SEA- 
BURY  dedicates  sermon  to  him.  —  Curious  pamphlet  by  Eev.  Mr.  WEEMS 
dedicated  to  him.  —  Copy  of  Mr.  WEEMS'  letter  to  him,  and  his  reply. 


left  Philadelphia  in  a  few 
days  and  returned  to  Mount  Vernon, 
where  he  at  once  engaged  in  superintend- 
ing the  improvement  of  his  estate,  and 
arranging  his  domestic  affairs,  which  had 
been  neglected  during  the  eight  years  of  his  presi- 
dency. He  had  said  in  a  letter  to  General  KNOX  : 

8* 


170  WASHINGTON. 

"  The  remainder  of  my  life,  which  in  the  course  of  nature 
cannot  be  long,  will' be  occupied  in  rural  amusements  ;  and 
though  I  shall  seclude  myself  as  much  as  possible  from  the 
noisy  and  bustling  crowd,  none  would  more  than  myself 
be  regaled  by  the  company  of  those  I  esteem  at  Mount 
Vernon — more  than  twenty  miles  from  which,  after  I  ar- 
rive there,  it  is  not  likely  I  shall  ever  be." 

He  had  scarcely  settled  himself  in  his  domestic  en- 
joyments, when  the  voice  of  Masonry — ever  grateful 
to  his  ear — reached  him  in  an  address  from  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Massachusetts,  which  bore  date  March  21, 
1797,  of  which  the  following  is  a  copy : 

"The  East,  the  West,  and  the  South,  of  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  for  the  Common- 
wealth of  Massachusetts,  to  their  most  worthy  Brother 
GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

"Wishing  ever  to  be  foremost  in  testimonials  of  respect 
and  admiration  of  those  virtues  and  services  with  which 
you  have  so  long  adorned  and  benefited  our  common 
country,  and  not  the  last  nor  least  to  regret  the  cessation 
of  them  in  the  public  councils  of  the  Union,  your  brethren 
of  this  Grand  Lodge  embrace  the  earliest  opportunity  of 
greeting  you  in  the  calm  retirement  you  have  contemplated 
to  yourself. 

"  Though  as  citizens  they  lose  you  in  the  active  labors  of 
political  life,  they  hope  as  Masons  to  find  you  in  the  pleas- 
ing sphere  of  fraternal  engagement.  From  the  cares  of 
State,  and  the  fatigues  of  public  business,  our  institution 
opens  a  recess,  affording  all  the  relief  of  tranquillity,  the 
harmony  of  peace,  and  the  refreshment  of  pleasure.  Of 
these  may  you  partake  in  all  their  purity  and  satisfaction ; 


WASHINGTON.  .      171 

and  we  will  assure  ourselves  that  your  attachment  to  this 
social  plan  will  encrease ;  and  that,  under  the  auspices  of 
your  encouragement,  assistance,  and  patronage,  the  Craft 
will  attain  its  highest  ornament,  perfection,  and  praise. 
And  it  is  our  earnest  prayer,  that  when  your  light  shall  be 
no  more  visible  in  this  earthly  Temple,  you  may  be  raised 
to  the  All  Perfect  Lodge  above,  be  seated  on  the  right  of 
the  Supreme  Architect  of  the  Universe,  and  receive  the  re- 
freshment your  labors  have  merited. 

"  In  behalf  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  we  subscribe  ourselves, 
with  the  highest  esteem,  your  affectionate  brethren, 

"  PAUL  REVERE,  Grand  Master. 

"  ISAIAH  THOMAS,  Senior  .Grand  Warden. 

"  JOSEPH  LAUGHTON,  Junior  Grand  Warden. 

"  DANJEL  OLIVER,  Grand  Secretary. 

"BOSTON,  March  21,5797." 

To  this  address  WASHINGTON  returned  the  following 
reply,  which  was  communicated  to  the  Grand  Lodge 
on  the  12th  of  the  following  June  : 

11  To  THE  GRAND  LODGE  OF  ANCIENT  FREE  AND  ACCEPTED  MA- 
SONS IN  THE  COMMONWEALTH  OF  MASSACHUSETTS  : 

"  BROTHERS — It  was  not  until  within  these  few  days  that 
I  have  been  favored  by  the  receipt  of  your  affectionate 
address,  dated  in  Boston,  the  21st  March. 

"  For  the  favorable  sentiments  you  have  been  pleased  to 
express  on  the  occasion  of  my  past  services,  and  for  the 
regrets  with  which  they  are  accompanied  for  the  cessation 
of  my  public  functions,  I  pray  you  to  accept  my  best  ac- 
knowledgments and  gratitude. 

"No  pleasure,  except  that  which  results  from  a  conscious- 
ness of  having,  to  the  utmost  of  my  abilities,  discharged  the 


172  WASHINGTON. 

trusts  whicli  have  been  reposed  in  me  by  my  country,  can 
equal  the  satisfaction  I  feel  for  the  unequivocal  proofs  I 
continually  receive  of  its  approbation  of  my  public  con- 
duct ;  and  I  beg  you  to  be  assured  that  the  evidence 
thereof,  which  is  exhibited  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Mas- 
sachusetts, is  not  among  the  least  pleasing  or  grateful  to 
my  feelings. 

"  In  that  retirement  which  declining  years  induces  me  to 
seek,  and  which  repose,  to  a  mind  long  employed  in  public 
concerns,  rendered  necessary,  my  wishes  that  bounteous 
Providence  will  continue  to  bless  and  preserve  our  country 
in  peace,  and  in  the  prosperity  it  has  enjoyed,  will  be  warm 
and  sincere  ;  and  iny  attachment  to  the  Society  of  which 
we  are  members  will  dispose  me  always  to  contribute  my 
best  endeavors  to  promote  the  honor  and  interest  of  the 
Craft. 

"  For  the  prayer  j-o.u  offer  in  my  behalf,  I  entreat  you 
to  accept  the  thanks  of  a  grateful  heart,  with  assurances 
of  fraternal  regard,  and  my  best  wishes  for  the  honor,  hap- 
piness, and  prosperity  of  all  the  members  of  the  Grand 

Lodge  of  Massachusetts. 

"  G°.  WASHINGTON." 

Although  this  Masonic  greeting  from  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Massachusetts  antedates  any  other  Masonic 
intercourse  on  record  after  his  retirement  from  the 
presidency ;  yet  before  its  reception  by  him,  his  own 
lodge  at  Alexandria  also  took  measures  to  welcome  his 
return.  Eor  this  purpose  they  addressed  him  the  fol- 
lowing letter : 

"  ALEXANDEIA,  March  28,  1797. 

"MosT  RESPECTED  BROTHJR — Brothers  RAMSEY  and  MARS- 
TELLER  wait  upon  you  with  a  copy  of  an  address  which 


WASHINGTON.  173 

has  been  prepared  by  the  unanimous  desire  of  the  Ancient 
York  Masons  of  Lodge  No.  22.  It  is  their  earnest  request 
that  you  will  partake  of  a  dinner  with  them,  and  that  you 
will  please  appoint  the  time  most  convenient  for  you  to 
attend. 

"•I  am,  most  beloved  Brother, 

"  Your  most  obd't  and  humble  serv't, 

"JAMES  GILLIS,  M. 
"GENERAL  GEORGE  WASHINGTON." 

WASHINGTON  accepted  the  invitation,  and  designated 
the  following  Saturday  as  the  time  when  he  would 
meet  the  brethren  of  his  lodge.  The  following  account 
of  the  addresses  and  ceremonies  on  the  occasion  is  given 
in  the  "  Freemasons'  Magazine,"  published  in  London 
in  June,  1797 : 

"  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA, 

ALEXANDRIA,  April  4,  1797. 

"  In  consequence  of  an  invitation  from  the  Ancient  York 
Masons  of  the  Alexandria  Lodge  No.  22  to  General  GEORGE 
WASHINGTON,  he  joined  the  brethren  on  Saturday  last,  when 
the  following  address  was  delivered  : 

" '  MOST  RESPECTED  BROTHER — The  Ancient  York  Masons  of 
Lodge  No.  22  offer  you  their  warmest  congratulations,  on 
your  retirement  from  your  useful  labors.  Under  the  Su- 
preme Architect  of  the  Universe,  you  have  been  the  Master 
Workman  in  erecting  the  Temple  of  Liberty  in  the  West,  on 
the  broad  basis  of  equal  rights.  In  your  wise  administra- 
tion of  the  Government  of  the  United  States  for  the  space 
of  eight  years,  you  have  kept  within  the  compass  of  our 
happy  constitution,  and  acted  upon  the  square  with  foreign 


174  WASHINGTON. 

nations,  and  thereby  preserved  your  country  in  peace,  and 
promoted  the  prosperity  and  happiness  of  your  fellow- 
citizens.  And  now  that  you  have  returned  from  the  labors 
of  public  life,  to  the  refreshment  of  domestic  tran quill  ityj 
they  ardently  pray  that  you  may  long  enjoy  all  the  happi- 
ness which  the  Terrestrial  Lodge  can  afford,  and  finally  be 
received  to  a  Celestial  Lodge,  where  love,  peace,  and  har- 
mony forever  reign,  and  cherubim  and  seraphim  shall  hail 
you  Brother  ! 

"  '  By  the  unanimous  desire  of  Lodge  No.  22. 

" '  JAMES  GILLIS,  Master. 
"  *  GENERAL  GEORGE  WASHINGTON.' 

"  To  which  the  following  reply  was  made  : 

"  '  BROTHERS  OF  THE  ANCIENT  YORK  MASONS  No.  22 — Wl/ilc 
my  heart  acknowledges  with  brotherly  love  your  affectionate 
congratulations  on  my  retirement  from  the  arduous  toils  of 
past  years,  my  gratitude  is  no  less  excited  by  your  kind 
wishes  for  my  future  happiness.  If  it  has  pleased  the  Su- 
preme Architect  of  the  Universe  to  make  me  an  humble  in- 
strument to  promote  the  welfare  and  happiness  of  my 
fellow-men,  my  exertions  have  been  abundantly  recom- 
pensed by  the  kind  partiality  with  which  they  have  been 
received.  And  the  assurances  you  give  me  of  your  belief 
that  I  have  acted  upon  the  square  in  my  public  capacity, 
will  be  among  my  principal  enjoyments  in  this  Terrestrial 
Lodge. 


« '  G°.  WASHINGTON.' 

"  After  this  the  lodge  went  in  procession  from  their  room 
to  Mr.  ALBERT'S  tavern,  where  they  partook  of  an  elegant 
dinner  prepared  for  the  occasion,  at  which  the  utmost  har- 
mony prevailed.  The  following  were  the  principal  toasts  : 


WASHINGTON.  175 

"1st.  Prosperity  to  the  Most  Ancient  and  Honorable 
Craft. 

"  2d.  All  those  who  live  within  the  Compass  and  the 
Square. 

"3d.  The  Temple  of  Liberty — may  its  pillars  be  the 
poles,  its  canopy  the  heavens,  and  its  votaries  all  mankind. 

"  4th.  The  virtuous  nine. 

"  5th.  The  United  States  of  America. 

"  6th.  The  Grand  Master  of  Virginia. 

"7th.  All  oppressed  and  distressed,  wherever  dispersed. 

"  8th.  Masons'  wives,  and  Masons'  bairns,  and  all  who 
wish  to  lie  in  Masons'  arms. 

"  9th.  May  brotherly  love  unite  all  nations. 
(By  Brother  WASHINGTON.) 

"  10th.  The  Lodge  at  Alexandria,  and  all  Masons  through- 
out 'the  world. 

"  After  which  he  retired. 

"  llth.  Our  most  respected  Brother  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 
Which  was  drunk  with  all  Masonic  honors." 

These  Masonic  incidents  in  WASHINGTON'S  life  oc- 
curred while  lie  was  busily  preparing  to  rearrange  the 
domestic  concerns  of  his  estate,  which  had  been-  some- 
what neglected  during  the  presidency.  In  a  letter  to 
a  friend  he  says  : 

"  I  find  myself  in  the  situation  of  a  new  beginner ;  for 
although  I  have  not  houses  to  build  (except  one  which  I 
must  erect  for  the  accommodation  and  security  of  my  mili- 
tary, civil,  and  private  papers,  which  are  voluminous,  and 
may  be  interesting),  yet  I  have  scarcely  any  thing  else 
about  me  that  does  not  require  considerable  repairs.  In  a 
word,  I  am  already  surrounded  with  joiners,  masons,  and 


176  WASHINGTON. 

painters  ;  and  such  is  my  anxiety  to  get.out  of  their  hands, 
that  I  have  scarcely  a  room  to  put  a  friend  into  or  to  sit  in 
myself,  without  the  music  of  hammers  or  the  odoriferous 
smell  of  paint." 

But  WASHINGTON  was  not  permitted  to  enjoy  the 
quietness  of  Mount  Yernon  undisturbed  by  public 
cares.  Before  his  administration  had  closed,  the  gov- 
ernment of  France  assumed  an  unpleasant  position 
towards  our  own,  and  the  clouds  of  war  were  again 
gathering  thick  above  our  horizon,  and  threatening  to 
burst  upon  our  country  with  all  their  complicated 
gloom.  So  imminent  had  the  danger  become,  that  in 
1798  a  provisional  army  was  ordered  to  be  raised,  and 
all  eyes  in  America  were  turned  on  WASHINGTON  as  its 
commander.  He  received  and  reluctantly  accepted 
the  appointment,  and  in  the  fall  of  that  year  again  left 
his  own  quiet  home  and  repaired  to  Philadelphia  to 
arrange  the  details  of  a  perfect  military  organization 
of  the  country  for  the  anticipated  contest.  While  he 
was  engaged  in  these  duties,  he  received  from  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  the  State  of  Maryland  a  copy  of  its 
Book  of  Constitutions,  which  had  been  published  the 
previous  year,  accompanied  by  a  letter  from  that  Grand 
Lodge,  to  which  he  returned  the  following  reply,  dated 
November  8,  1798  :  ' 

"  To  THE  RIGHT  WORSHIPFUL  GRAND  LODGE  OF  FREEMASONS  OP 
THE  STATE  OF  MARYLAND  : 

"BRETHREN  AND  BROTHERS — Your  obliging  and  affectionate 
letter,  together  with  a  copy  of  the  '  Constitutions  of  Masonry/ 
has  been  put  in  my  hands  by  your  Grand  Master,  for  which, 


WASHINGTON.  177 

I  pray  you,  to  accept  my  best  thanks.  So  far  as  I  am  ac- 
quainted with  the  principles  and  doctrines  of  Freemasonry, 
I  conceive  them  to  be  founded  on  benevolence,  and  to  be 
exercised  only  for  the  good  of  mankind.  I  cannot,  there- 
fore, upon  this  ground,  withdraw  my  approbation  from  it. 
While  I  offer  my  grateful  acknowledgments  for  your  con- 
gratulations on  my  late  appointment,  and  for  the  favorable 
sentiments  you  are  pleased  to  express  of  my  conduct,  per- 
mit me  to  observe,  that,  at  this  important  and  critical  mo- 
ment, when  high  and  repeated  indignities  have  been  offered 
to  the  Government  of  our  country,  and  when  the  property 
of  our  citizens  is  plundered  without  a  prospect  of  redress,  I 
conceive  it  to  be  the  indispensable  duty  of  every  American, 
let  his  station  and  circumstances  in  life  be  what  they  may, 
to  come  forward  in  support  of  the  Government  of  his 
choice,  and  to  give  all  the  aid  in  his  power  towards  main- 
taining that  independence  which  we  have'  so  dearly  pur- 
chased ;  and,  under  this  impression,  I  did  not  hesitate 
to  lay  aside  all  personal  considerations  and  accept  my 
appointment. 

"I  pray  you  to  be  assured  that  I  receive  with  gratitude 
your  kind  wishes  for  my  health  and  happiness,  and  recipro- 
cate them  with  sincerity. 

"  I  am,  gentlemen  and  brothers,  very  respectfully, 

"  Your  most  obed't  serv't, 

"  G°.  WASHINGTON." 

"  November  8, 1798." 

The  student  of  Masonic  history  will  remember  that 
this  reply  from  WASHINGTON  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Maryland  was  written  when  our  country  was  agitated 
with  a  threatened  war  with  France  ;  and  that  the  in- 
testine commotions  that  had  distracted  that  republic, 

8* 


178  WASHINGTON. 

were  ascribed  to  the  influence  of  German  and  French 
"illuminism,"  which  a  BARRUEL  and  a  BOBISON  asserted 
had  been  planted  and  fostered  there  through  the  in- 
fluence of  Masonic  lodges. 

BARRUEL — who  was  a  French  Jesuit,  used  all  his  pro- 
fessional cunning  to  implicate  Masonry  in  the  excesses 
of  the  Jacobins  of  France — and  ROBISON,  who  was  a 
Scotchman  of  some  literary  notoriety,  had  each  issued 
a  work  in  which  they  they  sought  to  demonstrate  that 
Masonic  lodges  were  all  schools  of  illuminism,  in  which 
infidelity  and  red-republicanism  were  taught.  These 
works  had  just  made  their  appearance  in  this  country, 
and  the  excesses  of  the  French  at  home,  and  their 
hostile  and  insolent  attitude  to  our  Government,  caused 
them  to  receive  an  attention  and  make  an  impression 
on  the  public  mind  which  would  have  been  impossible 
under  other  circumstances.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that 
the  author  of  one  of  these  productions  was  a  Papist, 
and  that  of  the  other  a  Scotch  Presbyterian. 

Masonic  lodges  in  this  country  had  multiplied  since 
the  Revolution  to  an  extent  unknown  before ;  their 
membership  embraced  men  in  all  the  honorable  walks 
of  life,  and  higher  organizations  and  Masonic  grades  of 
office  were  being  formed  in  many  of  the  States. 
ROBISON  had  openly  asserted  that  illuminism  was  a 
grade  in  Masonry,  which  had  already  been  intro- 
duced in  the  United  States ;  and  public  agitators 
in  this  country  sought  to  identify  the  infidelity  of 
Germany,  and  the  excesses  of  France,  with  Masonry 
in  America. 

While  the  public  mind  was  poisoned  with  these  in- 
sinuations, and  the  country  was  threatened  with  au 


WASHINGTON.  179 

invasion  by  France,  WASHINGTON  received  from  a 
clergyman,  by  the  name  of  SNYDEE,  who  resided  at 
Fredericktown,  in  Maryland,  a  copy  of  Mr.  EOBISON'S 
work,  which  had  just  been  republished  in  America, 
entitled  "  Proofs  of  a  Conspiracy  against  all  the  Ke- 
ligions  and  Governments  of  Europe,  carried  on  in  the 
secret  meetings  of  Freemasons,  Illuminati,  and  Head- 
ing Societies."  The  book  was  also  accompanied  by 
fche  following  letter  to  him  from  Mr.  SNYDER  : 

"  SIR — You  will,  I  hope,  not  think  it  presumption  in  a 
stranger,  whose  name,  perhaps,  never  reached  your  ears,  to 
address  himself  to  you,  the  commanding  general  of  a  great 
nation,  I  am  a  German  born,  and  liberally  educated  in  the 
city  of  Heidelberg,  in  the  Palatinate  of  the  Rhine.  I  came 
to  this  country  in  1716,  and  felt  soon  after  my  arrival  a 
close  attachment  to  the  liberty  for  which  these  Confederated 
States  then,  struggled.  The  same  attachment  still  remains, 
not  glowing,  but  burning  in  my  breast.  At  the  same  time 
that  I  am  exulting  in  the  measures  adopted  by  our  Govern- 
ment, I  feel  myself  elevated  in  the  idea  of  my  adopted 
country.  I  am  attached,  both  from  the  best  of  education 
and  mature  inquiry  and  research,  to  the  simple  doctrines  of 
Christianity,  which  I  have  the  honor  to  teach  in  public  ;  and 
I  do  heartily  despise  all  the  cavils  of  infidelity.  Our  present 
time  is  pregnant  with  the  most  shocking  evils  and  calami- 
ties, which  threaten  ruin  to  our  liberty  and  Government. 
Secretly  the  most  secret  plans  are  in  agitation  ;  plans 
calculated  to  ensnare  the  unwary,  to  attract  the  gay  and 
irreligious,  and  to  entice  even  the  well-disposed  to  combine 
in  the  general  machine  for  overturning  all  government  and 
religion. 


180  WASHINGTON. 

"  It  was  some  time  since  that  a  book  fell  into  my  hands, 
entitled  'Proofs  of  a  Conspiracy,  etc.,  by  JOHN  ROBISON, 
which  gives  a  full  account  of  a  Society  of  Freemasons,  that 
distinguishes  itself  by  the  name  of  '  Illuminati/  whose 
plan  is  to  overturn  all  government  and  all  religion,  even 
natural,  and  who  endeavor  to  eradicate  every  idea  of  a 
Supreme '  Being,  and  distinguish  man  from  beast  by  his 
shape  only. 

"A  thought  suggested  itself  to  me  that  some  of  the 
lodges  in  the  United  States  might  have  caught  the  infec- 
tion, and  might  co-operate  with  the  Illuminati,  or  the  Jaco- 
bine  clubs  in  France. 

"FAUCHET  is  mentioned  by  ROBISON  as  a  zealous  mem- 
ber ;  and  who  can  doubt  GENET  and  ADET?  Have  not  th«-s»; 
their  confidants  in  this  country  ?  They  use  the  same  ex- 
pressions, and  are  generally  men  of  no  religion.  Upon 
serious  reflection  I  was  led  to  think  that  it  might  be  within 
your  power  to  prevent  the  horrid  plan  from  corrupting  the 
brethren  of  the  English  lodges  over  which  you  preside.  I 
send  you  the  '  Proofs  of  a  Conspiracy,'  etc.,  which,  I  doubt 
not,  will  give  you  satisfaction,  and  afford  you  matter  for  a 
train  of  ideas  that  may  operate  to  our  national  felicity.  If, 
however,  you  have  already  perused  the  book,  it  will  not,  I 
trust,  be  disagreeable  to  you  that  I  address  you  with  this 
letter,  and  the  book  accompanying  it.  It  proceeded  from 
the  sincerity  of  my  heart,  and  my  ardent  wishes  for  the 
common  good. 

"  May  the  Supreme  Ruler  of  all  things  continue  you  long 
with  us  in  these  perilous  times ;  may  He  endue  you  with 
strength  and  wisdom  to  save  our  country  in  the  threatening 
storms  and  gathering  clouds  of  factions  and  commotions  ; 
and  after  you  have  completed  His  work  on  this  terrene  spot, 
may  He  bring  you  to  the  full  possession  of  the  glorious 


WASHINGTON.  181 

liberty  of  the  children  of  GOD,  is  the  hearty  and  most  sin- 
cere wish  of 

"  Your  Excellency's 

"  Very  humble  and  devoted  servant, 

"  G.  W.  SNYDER. 

"  His  Excellency  General  GEOEGE  WASHINGTON. 
"  FREDERICKTOWN,  Maryland,  August  22,  1798."  * 

To  this  letter  WASHINGTON  replied  as  follows  : 

"MOUNT  VERNON,  25th  September,  1798. 

"THE  REV.  MR.  SNYDER:  SIR — Many  apologies  are  due  to 
you  for  rny  not  acknowledging  the  receipt  of  your  obliging 
favor  of  the  22d  ult.,  and  not  thanking  you,  at  an  earlier 
period,  for  the  book  you  had  the  goodness'  to  send  me. 

"  I  have  heard  much  of  the  nefarious  and  dangerous  plan 
and  doctrines  of  the  Illuminati,  but  never  saw  the  book  un- 
til you  were  pleased  to  send  it  to  me.  The  same  causes 
which  have  prevented  my  acknowledging  the  receipt  of 
your  letter  have  prevented  my  reading  the  book  hitherto — 
namely,  the  multiplicity  of  matters  which  pressed  upon  me 
before,  and  the  debilitated  state  in  which  I  was  left  after  a 
severe  fever  had  been  removed,  and  which  allows  me  to  add 
but  little  more  than  thanks  for  your  kind  wishes  and  favor- 
able sentiments,  except  to  correct  an  error  you  have  run 
into,  of  my  presiding  over  the  English  lodges  in  this  country. 
The  fact  is,  I  preside  over  none,  nor  have  I  been  in  one 
more  than  once  or  twice  within  the  last  thirty  years.  I  be- 
lieve, notwithstanding,  that  none  of  the  lodges  in  this  coun- 
try are  contaminated  with  the  principles  ascribed  to  the 
society  of  the  Illuminati. 

"With  respect,  I  am,  sir, 

"  Your  obedieat,  humble  servant, 

"  G°.  WASHINGTON." 


182  WASHINGTON. 

Mr.  SNYDEB  wrote  a  second  letter  to  WASHINGTON,  in 
the  following  month,  on  the  same  subject;  and  for  this 
we  have  also  made  strict  search  in  the  archives  of  the 
Federal  State  Department,  where  the  Washington 
papers  are  deposited ;  but  it  is  nowhere  to  be  found. 
A  copy  of  WASHINGTON'S  reply  to  this  second  letter, 
however,  we  are  able  to  lay  before  our  readers. 

"  MOUNT  VERNON,  24th  October,  1798. 

"  REVEREND  SIR — I  have  your  favor  of  the  17th  instant 
before  me,  and  my  only  motive  for  troubling  you  witli  the 
receipt  of  the  letter  is  to  explain  and  correct  a  mistake 
which,  I  believe,  the  hurry  in  which  I  am  obliged  often  to 
write  letters  has  led  you  into. 

"It  was  not  my  intention  to  doubt  that  the  doctrines  of 
the  lUuminatij  and  the  principles  of  Jacobinism  had  not 
spread  in  the  United  States.  On  the  contrary,  no  one  is 
more  fully  satisfied  of  this  fact  than  I  am. 

"  The  idea  I  meant  to  convey  was,  that  I  did  not  believe 
that  the  lodges  of  Freemasons  in  this  country  had,  as  so- 
cieties, endeavored  to  propagate  the  diabolical  tenets  of 
the  former,  or  the  pernicious  principles  of  the  latter,  if  they 
are  susceptible  of  separation.  That  individuals  of  them 
may  have  done  it,  or  tliat  the  founder,  or  instruments  em- 
ployed to  found,  the  democratic  societies  in  the  United 
States  may  have  had  these  objects,  and  actually  had  a 
separation  of  -the  people  from  their  Government  in  view,  is 
too  evident  to  be  questioned. 

"  My  occupations  are  such  that  little  leisure  is  allowed 
me  to  read  newspapers  or  books  of  any  kind.     The  reading 
of  letters  and  preparing  answers  absorbs  much  of  my  time 
"  With  respect,  I  remain,  sir,  etc., 

"  G°.  WASHINGTON  '' 


WASHINGTON.  183 

The  first  letter  of  General  WASHINGTON  to  Mr.  SNYDEII 
has  been  often  quoted,  in  some  of  its  parts,  to  attempt 
to  show  that  WASHINGTON  disclaimed  all  connection 
with  Masonry  during  his  mature  and  latter  years.  His 
statement,  that  he  presided  over  none  of  the  English 
lodges  of  this  country,  nor  had  been  in  one  more  than 
once  or  twice  in  the  last  thirty  years,  is  given  as  if  the 
qualifying  designation  of  English  lodges  was  not  there 
written  and  fully  meant  by  him.  It  is  well  known,  as 
any  fact  in  history,  that  previous  to  the  Revolution  all 
regular  lodges  of  Masons  in  this  country  derived  their 
authority,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  from  one  of  the 
Grand  Lodges  of  Great  Britain,  and  Masonry  in  this 
country  was  known  as  English  Masonry,  in  contradis- 
tinction to  some  of  the  existing  systems  of  Continental 
Europe.  When  the  independence  of  the  United  States 
was  fully  confirmed,  Masonry,  as  an  institution,  con- 
formed its  organizations  and  government  to  the  new 
existing  political  state  of  the  country ;  and  its  lodges, 
with  but  few  exceptions,  relinquished  all  dependence 
on  their  English  progenitor  and  head.  American 
lodges,  therefore,  in  1798,  were  as  distinct  from 
English  lodges,  as  the  independent  States  were  from 
their  former  colonial  dependence,  except  in  a  few  in- 
stances, where  individual  lodges,  like  St.  Andrew's  in 
Boston,  still  continued  their  fealty  to  the  foreign 
Grand  Lodge,  to  which  they  owed  their  birth,  and 
declined  to  acknowledge  the  supremacy  or  legitimacy 
of  any  independent  American  Grand  Lodge.  Some  of 
these  lodges  thus  continued  until  after  the  commence- 
ment of  the  present  century. 

There  were  also  many  lodges  in  America,  while  tho 


184  "WASHINGTON. 

Provincial  Grand  Lodge  system  was  in  vogue  here, 
which  had  their  warrants  from  the  Grand  Lodges  of 
England  direct,  and  were  never,  subject  to  the  govern- 
ment of  the  American  Provincial  Grand  Bodies ;  and 
there  were  other  English  Military  Lodges  in  this  coun- 
try, botli  during  the  Revolution  and  previous  to  it, 
which  had  no  connection  with  the  Provincial  Grand 
Lodges  in  America,  except  in  owing  a  common  alle- 
giance to  the  English  Grand  Easts,  from  which  they 
sprung.  In  which  of  these  WASHINGTON  may  "  once  or 
twice"  have  been,  we  have  no  record  to  determine, 
while  we  have  abundant  records  to  show  that  he  often 
met  with  his  American  brethren  in  their  lodges,  and 
was  to  the  close  of  his  life  an  affiliated  member,  and 
as  such  received  Masonic  burial  at  their  hands. 

Mr.  SNYDER  was  not  the  only  clergyman  in  America 
whose  fears  were  aroused  by  the  artful  statements  of 
Mr.  ROBISON'S  book,  for  it  pervaded  to  a  great  extent 
among  the  Scotch  Presbyterians ;  and  in  New  England 
many  of  all  classes  suffered  themselves  to  be  very 
much  alarmed  by  its  statements.  Mr.  ADAMS,  as  Pres- 
ident of  the  United  States,  had  recommended  a  na- 
tional fast-day  to  be  observed  on  the  9th  of  May,  1798 ; 
and  on  that  occasion  many  clergymen  introduced  the 
subject  of  niuminism  into  their  discourses,  and  at- 
tempted to  show  from  the  writings  of  BAEKUEL  and 
EOBISON,  that  Masonry  was  an  institution  dangerous 
to  civil  and  religious  liberty.  Much  feeling  was 
aroused  in  New  England  by  these  discourses,  and  the 
fears  of  many  were  excited  that  Masonry  in  this  coun- 
try was  about  to  work  the  same  evils  here  that  had 
been  falsely  attributed  to  it  in  Europe. 


WASHINGTON.  185 

To  counteract  this  false  impression  on  the  public 
mind,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Massachusetts,  at  their  ses- 
sion on  the  llth  of  June  of  that  year,  addressed  the 
following  communication  to  JOHN  ADAMS,  as  President 
of  the  United  States : 

"BOSTON,  June  11,  1798. 
"  To  THE  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  : 

"  gIR — Flattery  and  a  discussion  of  political  opinions  are 
inconsistent  with  the  principles  of  our  Fraternity ;  but 
while  we  are  bound  to  cultivate  benevolence,  and  extend 
the  arm  of  charity  to  our  brethren  of  every  clime,  we  feel 
the  strongest  obligations  to  support  the  civil  authority 
which  protects  us.  And  when  the  illiberal  attacks  of  a 
foreign  enthusiast,  aided  by  the  unfounded  prejudices  of  his 
followers,  are  tending  to  embarrass  the  public  mind  with 
respect  to  the  real  views  of  our  society,  we  think  it  our 
duty  to  join  in  full  concert  with  our  fellow-citizens  in  ex- 
pressing our  gratitude  to  the  Supreme  Architect  of  the 
Universe,  for  endowing  you  with  that  wisdom,  patriotism, 
firmness,  and  integrity  which  has  characterized  your  public 
conduct. 

"  While  the  independence  of  our  country,  and  the  opera- 
tion of  just  and  equal  laws,  have  contributed  to  enlarge  the 
sphere  of  social  happiness,  we  rejoice  that  our  Masonic 
brethren  throughout  the  United  States  have  discovered  by 
their  conduct  a  zeal  to  promote  the  public  welfare,  and  that 
many  of  them  have  been  conspicuous  for  their  talents  and 
unwearied  exertions.  Among  those,  your  venerable  prede- 
cessor is  the  most  illustrious  example ;  and  the  memory  of 
our  beloved  WARREN,  who  from  the  chair  of  this  Grand 
Lodge  has  often  urged  the  members  to  the  exercise  of 
patriotism  and  philanthropy,  and  who  sealed  his  principles 


186  WASHINGTON. 

with  bis  blood,  shall  ever  animate  us  to  a  laudable  imita- 
tion of  his  virtues. 

"  Sincerely  we  deprecate  the  calamities  of  war,  and  have 
fervently  wished  success  to  every  endeavor  for  the  preser- 
vation of  peace.  But,  sir,  if  we  disregard  the  blessings  of 
liberty,  we  are  unworthy  to  enjoy  them.  In  vain  have  our 
statesmen  labored  in  their  public  assemblies  and  by  their 
midnight  tapers ;  in  vain  have  our  mountains  and  valleys 
been  stained  with  the  blood  of  our  heroes,  if  we  want  firm- 
ness to  repel  the  assaults  of  every  presumptive  invader. 
And  while,  as  citizens  of  a  Free  Eepublic,  we  engage  our 
utmost  exertions  in  the  cause  of  our  country,  and  offer  our 
services  to  protect  the  fair  inheritance  of  our  ancestors,  as 
Masons  we  will  cultivate  the  precepts  of  our  institution^ 
and  alleviate  the  miseries  of  all  who  by  the  fortunes  of  war, 
or  the  ordinary  concerns  of  life,  are  the  objects  of  our  at- 
tention. 

"  Long  may  you  continue  a  patron  of  the  useful  arts,  and 
an  ornament  to  the  present  generation  ;  may  you  finish 
your  public  labors  with  an  approving  conscience,  and  be 
gathered  to  the  sepulchres  of  your  co-patriots  with  the 
benedictions  of  your  countrymen  ;  and  finally,  may  you  be 
admitted  to  that  celestial  temple,  where  all  national  dis- 
tinctions are  lost  in  undissembled  friendship  and  universal 
peace. 

"  JOSIAH  BARTLETT,  Grand  Master. 

"  SAMUEL  DUNN,  D.  G.  Master. 

"  JOSEPH  LAUGHTOX,   )  ~   ^^ 

«  TTT     T  V  G.  TV  ardens. 

"  WM.  LITTLE,  j 

"Attest:  DAXIEL  OLIVER,  G.  Secretary." 

To  this  address,  Mr.  ADAMS  sent  the  following  cour- 
teous and  respectful  reply. 


WASHINGTON.  187 

"  GENTLEMEN — As  I  never  had  the  honor  to  be  one  of  your 
ancient  fraternity,  I  feel  myself  under  the  greater  obliga- 
tions to  you  for  your  respectful  and  affectionate  address. 
Many  of  my  best  friends  have  been  Masons,  and  two  of 
these,  my  professional  patron,  the  learned  GRIDLEY,  and  my 
intimate  friend,  your  immortal  WARREN,  whose  life  and 
death  are  lessons  of  patriotism  and  philanthropy,  were 
Grand  Masters.  Yet  so  it  has  happened,  that  I  never  had 
the  felicity  to  be  initiated.  Such  examples  as  these,  and  a 
greater  still  in  my  venerable  predecessor,  would  have  been 
sufficient  to  induce  me  to  hold  the  Institution  and  Fraternity 
in  esteem  and  honor,  as  favorable  to  the  support  of  civil 
authority,  if  I  had  not  known  their  love  of  the  fine  arts, 
their  delight  in  hospitality,  and  devotion  to  humanity. 

"  Your  indulgent  opinion  of  my  conduct,  and  your  benev- 
olent wish  for  the  fortunate  termination  of  my  public  labors, 
have  my  sincere  thanks. 

"  The  public  engagement  of  your  utmost  exertions  in  the 
cause  of  your  country,  and  the  offer  of  your  services  to  pro- 
tect the  fair  inheritance  of  your  ancestors,  are  proofs  that 
you  are  not  chargeable  with  those  designs,  the  imputation 
of  which,  in  other  parts  of  the  world,  has  embarrassed  the 
public  mind  with  respect  to  the  real  views  of  your  society. 

"  JOHN  ADAMS. 

"PHILADELPHIA,  June  22,  1798." 

Mr.  ADAMS  had,  a  few  months  previous,  received 
a  similar  letter  from  the  Grand  Master  of  Maryland, 
in  behalf  of  the  Fraternity  of  that  State,  to  which  ho 
also  replied.  From  this  letter  and  reply,  we  give  the 
following  extracts.  Mr.  BELTON,  the  Grand  Master, 
in  his  letter,  bearing  date  Baltimore,  July  12,  1798, 
said : 


188  WASHINGTON. 

********  «  Permit  us  to  offer  our  most  sincere  con- 
gratulations on  an  occurrence  the  most  interesting  to  Ameri- 
cans. We  again  behold  our  WASHINGTON  ! — the  glory  of  his 
country — the  boast,  the  honor  of  our  Society  and  of  man- 
kind, relinquishing  in  old  age  the  tranquil  scene.  Sum- 
moned by  the  voice  of  his  country,  we  again  behold  the 
Hero  and  the  Patriot,  willing  and  forward  to  sacrifice  his 
private  ease  for  her  safety  !  What  heart  can  be  so  cold, 
what  heart  can  so  languidly  move,  as  not  to  beat  high 
and  strong  at  the  thought  of  being  once  more  commanded 
by  that  highest  ornament  of  the  human  character — our  true, 
ever-beloved  Brother  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  !  The  name  alone 
will  form  a  sure  defence." 

To  this  sentiment  Mr.  ADAMS  replied  under  date  of 
July  18,  1798  : 

******  <c  \yjth  heartfelt  satisfaction,  I  reciprocate 
your  most  sincere  congratulations  on  an  occasion  the  most 
interesting  to  Americans.  No  light  or  trivial  cause  would 
have  given  you  the  opportunity  of  beholding  your  WASH- 
INGTON again  relinquishing,  the  tranquil  scenes  in  delicious 
shades.  To  complete  the  character  of  French  philosophy 
and  French  policy,  at  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century,  it 
seemed  to  be  necessary  to  combat  this  Patriot  and  Hero" 

These  addresses  and  replies  show  that  WASHINGTON'S 
connection  with  Masonry  was  as  fully  recognized  at 
this  period  by  all  classes  of  American  citizens  as  it 
was  proudly  claimed  by  his,  brethren,  and  that  the 
misinterpretation  of  -his  views  by  its  enemies  had  not 
then  been  attempted.  Even  the  Kev.  JEDEDIAH  MORSE, 
who  in  his  fast- day  sermon  at  Boston,  on  the  9th  of 


WASHINGTON.  189 

May,  had  entered  largely  into  the  spirit  of  BARRUEL 
and  KOBISON,  when  he  permitted  the  sermon  to  appear 
in  print  a  few  months  later,  softened  his  accusations  in 
a  marginal  note  by  saying  : 

"  Judging  from  the  characters  in  general  who  compose 
the  Masonic  Fraternity  in  America,  at  the  head  of  which 
stands  the  immortal  WASHINGTON,  and  particularly  the  char- 
acters of  the  Masons  in  New  England,  who,  as  a  body,  have 
ever  shown  themselves  firm  and  decided  supporters  of  civil 
and  religious  order,  we  may  presume  that  this  leaven  has 
not  found  its  way  into  our  American  lodges,  especially  in 
the  Eastern  States,  If  it  has  been  introduced  among  us,  it 
has  probably  been  insinuated  through  different  channels." 

Thus  was  WASHINGTON'S  fame  as  a  Mason  publicly 
acknowledged  and  unimpeached,  even  by  those  of  his 
contemporaries  who  assailed  the  integrity  and  objects 
of  the  institution. 

The  last  year  of  WASHINGTON'S  life  was  spent  in 
quietness  at  his  home  on  the  Potomac.  His  duties  as 
lieutenant-general  of  the  Provisional  army  did  not  call 
him  into  the  fieldj  for  France  assumed  a  more  pacific 
attitude  towards  our  Government,  and  he  was  spared 
the  necessity  of  directing  a  bloody  conflict  with  our 
former  ally.  The  22d  of  February,  1799,  was  a  gala- 
day  at  Mount  Yernon.  It  was  WASHINGTON'S  last 
celebration  of  his  birthday ;  and  on  this  occasion  his 
adopted  daughter,  NELLY  CUSTIS,  was  given  by  him  as 
the  bride  of  his  nephew,  LAWRENCE  LEWIS.  She  was 
the  daughter  of  his  stepson,  JOHN  PARKE  CUSTIS,  who 
died  near  Yorktown  in  1781.  His  two  youngest  chil- 
dren, a  son  and  a  daughter,  as  before  stated,  had  on 


190  WASHINGTON. 

that  occasion  been  adopted  by  WASHINGTON  ;  and  of 
these  NELLY  was  his  favorite,  and  the  bridal  flower  that 
graced  Mount  Vernon  on  his  last  birthday. 

While  the  States  were  English  colonies,  the  king's 
birthday  anniversaries  were  public  holidays ;  and  as 
such,  the  4th  of  June  was  King  GEORGE'S  day  with  the 
people  :  but  after  the  close  of  the  Revolution,  the  cele- 
bration of  WASHINGTON'S  birthday  took  the  place  of 
that ;  and  the  22d  of  February  became  a  festival  day 
in  our  country.  It  was  thus  observed  in  Alexandria 
as  early  as  1784;  and  the  birth-night  balls  of  February 
22 d  have  been  successively  continued  there.  We  have 
also  seen  notices  of  it  in  Richmond  as  early  as  1786, 
and  in  Philadelphia,  1790.  It  also  became,  during 
WASHINGTON'S  presidency,  a  Masonic  festival.  St. 
John's  Lodge  at  Newark,  New  Jersey,  kept  it  as  such 
as  early  as  1792 ;  and  that  venerable  lodge  has,  from 
that  time  to  the  present,  yearly  convened  on  that  day 
to  commemorate  the  Masonic  virtues  of  WASHINGTON. 
Little  did  those  brethren,  who  first  met  to  celebrate  it 
as  Masons,  reflect  how  many  millions  in  after-years 
would  regard  it  as 

"  The  gayest  festival  in  all  the  year." 

Even  at  the  yearly  festivals  of  more  ancient  origin 
to  commemorate  the  two  St.  Johns,  it  had  become  the 
custom  to  remember  WASHINGTON  in  one  of  the  standing 
Masonic  toasts  at  that  day.  He  was  also  still  remem- 
bered in  published  Masonic  addresses  dedicated  to  him. 
One  of  these,  delivered  before  a  special  session  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Connecticut,  at  Norwich,  on  the  24th 
of  June,  1795,  by  Dr.  SAMUEL  SEABURY,  the  first  conse- 


WASHINGTON.  191 

crated  Bishop  in  America,  bore  the  following  dedica- 
tion by  him  to  WASHINGTON  : 

"  To  the  Most  Worshipful  GEORGE  WASHINGTON,  President 
of  the  United  States  of  America,  the  following  discourse  is 
respectfully  inscribed,  by  his  affectionate  brother,  and  most 
devoted  servant, 

"  SAMUEL  SEABURY." 

It  is  a  curious  fact  in  the  Masonic  history  of  our 
country  during  WASHINGTON'S  lifetime,  that  most  dedi- 
cations of  Masonic  literature  were  made  to  him,  while 
other  publications  also  were  in  some  instances  thus 
dedicated.  A  curious  semi-dedication  of  a  quaint 
pamphlet,  by  the  Rev.  MASON  L.  WEEMS,  an  early 
biographer  of  WASHINGTON,  published  in  1799,  was  thus 
given,  which  we  here  reproduce  as  the  last  written 
correspondence  with  WASHINGTON  in  which  Masonic 

allusions  are  made.     The  pamphlet  was  entitled, 

f 

"  The  PHILANTHROPIST,  or  Political  Peace-Maker  between  all 
honest  men  of  both  parties.  With  the  recommendation  pre- 
fixed by  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  in  his  own  handwriting,  by 
M.  L.  WEEMS,  Lodge  No.  50,  Dumfries." 

It  was  prefaced  with  the  following  letter  to  WASH- 
INGTON, and  a  fac-simile  copy  of  his  reply,  which  were 
as  follows : 

"  To  HIS  EXCELLENCY  GEORGE  WASHINGTON,  ESQUIRE,  JJieulen- 

ant-General  of  the  Armies  of  the  United  States  : 
"  MOST  HONORED  GENERAL — Scarcely  was  I  delivered  of  this 
young  republican  philanthropist  before  I  began,  according 


192  WASHINGTON. 

to  good  Christian  usage,  to  look  about  for  a  suitable  god- 
father for  it.  My  thoughts,  presumptuously  enough,  I  con- 
fess, instantly  fixed  upon  you,  for  two  reasons  :  First,  I 
was  desirous  of  paying  to  you  (the  first  benefactor  of  my 
country)  this  little  mite  of  grateful  and  aifectionate  re- 
spect ;  and  secondly,  because  I  well  know  there  exists  n$t, 
on  this  side  of  heaven,  the  man  who  will  more  cordially 
than  General  WASHINGTON  approve  of  whatever  tends  to 
advance  the  harmony  and  happiness  of  Columbia. 

"  GOD,  I  pray  him,  grant!  that  you  may  long  live  to  see  us 
all  catching  from  your  fair  example  that  reverence  for  the 
Eternal  Being,  that  veneration  for  the  laws,  that  infinite 
concern  for  the  national  Union,  that  unextinguishable  love 
for  our  country,  and  that  insuperable  contempt  of  pleasures, 
of  dangers,  and  of  death  itself,  in  its  service  and  defence, 
which  have  raised  you  to  immortality,  and  which  alone  can 
exalt  us  to  be  a  GREAT  and  HAPPY  REPUBLIC. 

"  On  the  square  of  Justice,  and  on  the  scale  of  Love,  1 
remain,  honored  general,  jrour  very  sincere  friend,  and  Ma- 
sonic brother, 

"M.  L.  WEEMS." 

WASHINGTON  replied : 

"MoirxT  VEBNON,  29th  August,  1799. 

"  REV'D  SIR — I  have  been  duly  favored  with  your  letter 
of  the  20th  instant,  accompanying  '  The  Philanthropist/ 

"  For  your  politeness  in  sending  the  letter,  I  pray  you 
to  receive  my  best  thanks.  Much  indeed  it  is  to  be  wished 
that  the  sentiments  contained  in  the  Pamphlet,  and  the 
doctrines  it  endeavors  to  inculcate,  were  more  prevalent. 
Happy  would  it  be  for  this  country  at  least,  if  they  were  so 
But  while  the  passions  of  mankind  are  under  so  little  re- 
straint as  they  are  among  us,  and  while  there  are  so  many 


WASHINGTON.  193 

motives   and  views   to   bring  them  into   action,  we  may 
wish  for,  but  never  see  the  accomplishment  of  it. 
"  With  respect, 

"  I  am  your  most  obed't  humble  servant, 

"  G°.  WASHINGTON 
"TheRevM  M.  L.  WEEMS/ 

fa 


CHAPTER  X. 

WASHINGTON'S  last  autumn. — His  sickness. — Death. — Who  present  at  th« 
time. — Preparations  for  the  funeral. — Ceremonies  arranged  by  a  com- 
mittee of  Lodge  No.  22. — Emergent  meeting  of  this  lodge. — Meeting  of 
Lodge  No.  47.— Other  lodges  in  the  district  requested  to  attend  the 
funeral. — Military  of  Alexandria  invited  to  join  as  an  escort. — Citizens  as- 
sembled at  the  funeral. — Inscription  on  the  coffin. — Masonic  ceremonies  at 
the  house. — Vessel  on  the  river  furls  its  sails. — Formation  of  the  proces- 
sion.—Clergy  present  on  the  occasion.— Who  of  them  were  Masons.— 
Moving  of  the  procession. — Arrival  at  the  tomb. — Religious  services. — 
Masonic  ceremonies.— A  salute  fired.— Entombment  concluded. — Lodge 
No.  22  meets  on  the  following  day.— Colonel  DKNEALE  elected  its  Master. 
—Its  former  Masters.— Dr.  DICK'S  address.— Lodges  go  to  the  Presby- 
terian church  to  hear  sermon  by  Rev.  Mr.  MAFFIT. — Lodges  attend  on 
two  succeeding  Sabbaths  to  hear  sermons  from  various  clergymen. — 
Celebration  at  Alexandria  on  the  following  22d  of  February. — Masonic 
lodges  attend  in  mourning. — Other  attendance. — Ceremonies. — Extracts 
from  Dr.  DIOR'S  address  on  the  occasion. — Prayers  delivered  on  the  oc- 
casion by  Rev.  Brothers  Dr.  Mum,  THOMAS  DAVIS,  and  WILLIAM  MAFFIT. 

lASHINGTON'S  last  summer  and  autumn 
were  spent  in  arranging  the  minutest  de- 
tails of  his  domestic  affairs  and  private 
business.  Whether  he  had  a  premoni- 
tion that  it  was  his  last  year,  no  one  can 
determine ;  but  like  a  wise  man,  he  set  his  house  in 
order.  December  came,  and  with  its  chilling  breath 
and  wintry  mantle  came  also  the  messenger  of  death 
for  WASHINGTON  ! 
His  sickness  was  sudden,  short,  and  painful.  It 


WASHINGTON.  195 

commenced  on  the  evening  of  Thursday,  the  12th  of 
December,  as  a  common  cold,  with  soreness  of  the 
throat.  Upon  the  succeeding  day  the  inflammation 
there  had  increased,  and  in  the  night  became  alarm- 
ing. He  .was  urged  to  send  to  Alexandria  for  Dr. 
CRAIK,  his  family  physician,  but  the  night  was  stormy, 
and  his  humanity  for  his  servant  induced  him  to  defer 
it  until  Saturday  morning,  using,  in  the  mean  time,  all 
the  usual  domestic  remedies  in  such  cases.  But  these 
were  of  no  avail,  and  his  physicians  came  too  late.  It 
was  eleven  o'clock  on  the  forenoon  of  Saturday  before 
Dr.  CEAIK  arrived,  and  the  disease  had  made  so  alarm- 
ing a  progress,  that  two  eminent  consulting  physicians, 
Dr.  DICK,  of  Alexandria,  and  Dr.  BROWN,  of  Port 
Tobacco,  were  also  sent  for.  But  none  of  them  could 
afford  relief.  The  chilling  hand  of  death  was  already 
upon  him.  Fully  aware  that  his  last  mortal  hour  had 
come,  he  met  it  with  a  composure  of  mind  that  as- 
tonished those  about  him,  saying  to  his  physician,  who 
assured  him  that  he  had  not  long  to  live :  "  It  is  well, 
doctor :  I  am  not  afraid  to  die."  Then  calmly  crossing 
his  arms  upon  kis  breast,  he  closed  his  eyes,  and,  with 
a  few  shortening  breaths,  expired  without  a  struggle, 
between  ten  and  eleven  in  the  evening. 

Mrs.  WASHINGTON  was  sitting  at  the  time  at  the  foot 
of  the  bed,  and  as  his  spirit  ebbed  away,  she  buried 
her  face  in  the  enfolded  curtains  and  silently  prayed 
that  it  might  peacefully  pass.  The  stillness  of  the 
death-chamber  was  first  broken  by  her  words,  as  she 
raised  her  head  and  asked  in  a  firm  and  collected,  but 
mournful  voice:  "Is  he  gone?"  Mr.  LEAR,  who  was 
standing  by  the  bedside,  by  a  motion  of  his  hand, 


196  WASHINGTON. 

silently  signified  that  he  was  no  more.  "  'Tis  well/ 
said  she  in  the  same  voice ;  "  all  is  now  over ;  I  shall 
soon  follow  him ;  I  have  no  more  trials  to  pass 
through." 

Few  were  present  as  witnesses  of  the  scene.  It  was 
only  the  domestic  circle  of  his  own  household,  with, 
perhaps,  a  few  family  friends,  and  his  attending  physi- 
cians who  were  there.  Of  these,  Dr.  CRAIK,  his  life-long 
friend  and  family  physician,  and  Dr.  DICK,  were  Ma- 
sons ;  the  latter  being  at  the  time  the  Master  of  WASH- 
INGTON'S own  lodge  at  Alexandria.  What  Masonic 
requests  may  have  been  made  to  them  during  his  last 
hours  we  know  not.  But  it  is  well  known  to  every 
Mason,  that  the  mystic  rites  of  a  Masonic  burial  are 
not  performed,  except  at  a  brother's  request  while 
living,  or  by  desire  of  his  family  after  his  death.  It 
was  believed  at  the  time,  by  intelligent  brethren,  that 
WASHINGTON  had  signified  that  to  be  his  wish  ;  and  the 
holy  rites  of  the  Christian  Church  of  which  he  was  a 
member,  and  the  mystic  rites  of  Masonry,  were  each 
performed  in  their  beautiful  simplicity  at  the  tomb  of 
this  distinguished  brother.  * 

At  midnight — the  low  twelve  of  Masonry — the  body 
was  taken  from  the  chamber  of  death  to  a  large  draw- 
ing-room below,  clothed  in  burial  robes.  The  death 
dew  had  been  wiped  from  its  brow,  and  the  pale  taper 
at  its  head  threw  a  flickering  light  on  the  marble 
features  where  death  had  set  his  signet.  From  mid- 
night until  morning  there  was  stillness  there.  Words 
were  spoken  only  in  whispers,  as  if  accents  from  hu- 
man lips  would  fall  discordant  on  the  sleeper's  ear. 
America,  too,  in  that  dread  interval  from  midnight  to 


WASHINGTON.  197 

Sabbath  morn,  lay  in  slumber,  unconscious  of  her  loss. 
Morning  came,  and  the  hurrying  footsteps  of  family 
friends,  who  hastened  to  Mount  Yernon,  were  heard 
mingling  with  those  that  left  to  carry  the  tidings  of  a 
Nation's  loss !  My  pen  cannot  describe  what  followed. 
A  pencil  painted  it : 

tDa0l)iwjton  in  OHorj; — America  in  Sears! 

During  the  day  a  plain  mahogany  coffin  was  ordered 
from  Alexandria,  and  mourning  for  the  family,  over- 
seers, and  domestics  at  Mount  Yernon.  The  funeral 
was  appointed  for  Wednesday,  the  18th,  at  meridian; 
and  the  Eev.  Mr.  DAVIS,  the  Episcopal  clergyman  at 
Alexandria,  was  invited  to  perform  the  burial  rites  of 
that  Church  on  the  occasion.  The  selection  was  an 
appropriate  one ;  for  Mr.  DAVIS  was  not  only  the  rector 
of  WASHINGTON'S  church,  but  he  was  also  a  member  of 
the  same  Masoniq  lodge. 

The  funeral  procession  and  burial  ceremonies  were 
arranged  by  a  committee  of  Lodge  No.  22,  at  Alexan- 
dria, consisting  of  Dr.  ELISHA  CULLEN  DICK,  its  Master ; 
Colonel  GEORGE  DENEALE,  its  Senior  Warden;  and 
Colonels  CHAELES  LITTLE  and  CHARLES  SIMMS,  who  were 
members.  On  Monday,  the  16th,  an  emergent  meeting 
of  this  lodge  was  called,  at  which  Dr.  DICK,  its  Master, 
presided.  Forty-one  of  its  members  were  present,  and 
two  visiting  brethren,  one  from  Fredericksburg,  where 
WASHINGTON  was  made  a  Mason,  and  the  other  from 
Philadelphia. 

Dr.  DICK  addressed  the  brethren  in  a  feeling  manner, 
on  the  event  which  had  called  them  together.  It  was 


198  WASHINGTON. 

their  first  recorded  meeting  on  an  occasion  like  this. 
They  sat  in  sorrow  there.  The  death-angel's  alarm 
at  their  tiled  door  had  found  none  to  withstand  his 
approach,  or  ask  from  whence  he  came,  or  what  he 
came  thither  to  do.  With  step  unseen,*  and  saluta- 
tion strange  to  all,  he  had  approached  their  midst,  re- 
moved from  before  their  altar  a  mystic  taper,  and 
taken  it  to  the  Grand  Lodge  above.  To  arrange  for 
commemorating,  in  the  burial  of  their  departed  WASH- 
INGTON, the  extinguishing  of  that  light  in.  their  lodge, 
and  their  confident  hope  of  finding  it  shining  with 
brighter  rays  before  the  Grand  Orient  of  the  Holy  One 
on  High,  they  were  now  met. 

There  was  also  another  Masonic  lodge  at  that  time 
in  Alexandria,  called  Brooke  Lodge  No.  47,  which  was 
convened  at  the  same  hour.  A  committee  from  No.  22, 
consisting  of  Brothers  JOSEPH  NEALE  and  THOMAS 
PETREKIN  was  appointed  to  confer  with  No.  47 ;  and 
the  joint  committee  of  both  lodges  agreed  upon  the 
ceremonies  as  arranged  by  the  former  committee  of 
Lodge  No.  22.  There  were  also  two  other  lodges  at 
that  time  in  the  Federal  District,  held  under  warrants 
from  the  grand  Lodge  of  Maryland.  These  were 
Potomac  Lodge  No.  9,  at  Georgetown,  and  Federal 
Lodge  No.  15,  at  Washington.  A  messenger  was  ap- 
pointed by  No.  22  to  wait  on  these  lodges  on  Tuesday, 
"and  invite  them  to  join  the  funeral  procession  at 
Mount  Vernon  on  Wednesday  at  twelve  o'clock,  if  fair, 
or  on  Thursday  at  the  same  hour."  The  deacons  of  the 
lodge  were  directed  to  have  the  Orders  cleaned  and 
prepared,  and  to  furnish  spermaceti  candles  for  them. 
The  secretaiy  was  also  directed  to  have  the  case  in 


WASHINGTON.  199 

which  the  charter  was  kept  repaired  and  gilded  for 
the  occasion.  It  was  also  arranged  that  the  military 
companies  of  Alexandria  should  join  in  the  procession 
as  an  escort  and  guard  of  honor.  They  were  at  that 
time  under  command  of  Colonel  DENEALE,  the  Senior 
Warden  of  WASHINGTON'S  lodge.  These  arrangements 
having  been  signified  to  the  family,  Mr.  LEAR,  WASH- 
INGTON'S late  private  secretary,  ordered,  as  was  the 
custom  at  that  day,  provisions  and  other  refreshments 
to  be  provided  at  Mount  Vernon  for  the  funeral  as- 
sembly. 

Upon  the  next  day,  Wednesday,  December  18th,  the 
citizens  about  Mount  Vernon  commenced  assembling 
there  at  eleven  o'clock,  and  the  encoffined  body  of  the 
illustrious  dead  was  placed  in  the  piazza  of  the  grand 
old  mansion,  where,  while  living,  he  had  been  accus- 
tomed to  walk  and  muse,  or  converse  with  visitors. 
On  an  ornament  at  the  head  of  the  coffin  was  inscribed, 
SURGE  AD  JUDICITUM,  and  beneath  it  GLORIA  DEO  ;  and 
upon  a  silver  plate  on  the  middle  of  the  lid  was  inscribed, 

GENERAL 

GEORGE  WASHINGTON 

DEPARTED  TIIIS  LIFE  ON  THE  14TH  DECEMBER, 
1799,  &T.  68. 

The  sun  had  passed  its  meridian  height  before  the 
Fraternity  and  military  escort  arrived  from  Alexandria. 
The  Masonic  apron  and  two  crossed  swords  were  then 
placed  upon  the  coffin,  a  few  mystic  words  were  spoken, 
and  the  brethren  one  by  one  filed  by  the  noble  form, 


200  WASHINGTON. 

majestic  even  in  death,  and  took  a  last  sad  look  on  one 
they  had  loved  so  well.  Alas,  the  light  of  his  eye  and 
the  breathing  of  his  lips  in  language  of  fraternal  greet- 
ing were  lost  to  them  forever  on  this  side  of  the  grave ! 

Adown  the  shaded  avenues  that  led  from  the  man- 
sion to  the  Potomac  might  then  be  seen  a  vessel  at 
anchor,  with  its  white  sails  furled,  awaiting  the  pro- 
cession's forming.  The  cavalry  took  its  position  in 
the  van,  and  next  came  the  infantry  and  guard,  all 
with  arms  reversed.  Behind  them  followed  a  small 
band  of  music  with  muffled  drums ;  and  next  the  clergy, 
two  and  two.  They  were  four  in  number — viz.,  the 
Eev.  Dr.  MUIB  and  the  Eev.  Messrs.  DAVIS,  MAFFIT, 
and  ADDISON — the  first  three  of  whom  were  Masons  and 
members  of  Lodge  No.  22,  at  Alexandria.  Then  fol- 
lowed WASHINGTON'S  war-horse,  led  by  two  grooms 
dressed  in  black.  It  was  riderless  that  day,  but  car- 
ried saddle,  holsters,  and  pistols.  Next  was  placed  the 
body  on  its  bier,  covered  with  a  dark  pall.  Six  Ma- 
sonic brethren  attended  it  as  pall-bearers.  They  were 
Colonels  GILPIN,  MARSTELLER,  and  LITTLE  on  the  right, 
and  Colonels  SIMMS,  EAMSEY,  and  PAYNE  on  the  left, 
all  members  of  WASHINGTON'S  own  lodge.  Each  of 
them  wore  on  his  left  arm  an  ample  badge  of  black 
crape,  which  may  still  be  seen,  together  with  the  bier 
on  which  the  body  was  borne,  in  the  Museum  at  Alex- 
andria. The  relatives  of  the  deceased  and  a  few 
intimate  family  friends  then  followed  as  principal 
mourners.  Then  came  the  officers  and  members  of 
his  lodge  and  other  Masonic  brethren,  all  too  as 
mourners. 

The  officers  of  the  corporation  of  Alexandria  then 


WASHINGTON.  201 

took  their  places  behind  the  Masonic  Fraternity ;  citi- 
zens followed,  preceded  by  the  overseers  of  the  Mount 
Vernon  estate,  and  its  domestics  closed  the  proces- 
sion. 

It  was  between  three  and  four  o'clock  before  the 
procession  moved.  The  booming  cannon  from  the 
vessel  on  the  river  was  the  signal,  and  then  with  slow 
and  measured  steps  that  «melted  their  souls  in  all  the 
tenderness  of  woe,  their  way  was  taken  to  the  family 
vault  at  the  bottom  of  the  lawn  near  the  bank  of  the 
Potomac.  The  military  escort  there  halted  and  formed 
their  lines.  The  body,  the  clergy,  the  mourning  rel- 
atives, and  the  Masonic  brethren  then  passed  between 
them,  and  approached  the  door  of  the  tomb.  There 
the  encoffined  WASHINGTON  rested  on  his  bier  before 
them.  Dr.  DICK,  the  Master  of  the  lodge,  and  the  Rev. 
THOMAS  DAVIS,  rector  of  Christ  Church,  stood  at  its 
head,  the  mourning  relatives  at  its  foot,  and  the  Fra- 
ternity in  a  circle  around  the  tomb. 

The  Eev.  Mr.  DAVIS  broke  the  silence  by  repeating 
from  sacred  writings,  "  I  am  the  resurrection  and  the 
life ;  he  that  believeth  in  Me,  though  he  were  dead, 
yet  shall  he  live."  Then  with  bowed  and  reverent 
heads  all  listened  to  the  voice  of  prayer ;  and  as  the 
holy  words  went  on,  as  used  in  the  beautiful  and  ex- 
pressive burial-service  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  their 
soothing  spirit  was  echoed  in  tha  responses  of  the 
multitude  around.  Mr.  DAVIS  closed  his  burial-service 
with  a  short  address.  There  was  a  pause  ; — and  then 
the  Master  of  the  lodge  performed  the  mystic  funeral 
rites  of  Masonry,  as  the  last  service  at  the  burial  of 
WASHINGTON.  The  ap  r on  and  the  swords  were  removed 


202 


WASHINGTON. 


from  the  coffin,  for  tlieir  place  was  no  longer  there. 
It  was  ready  for  entombment.     The  brethren  one  by 
one  cast  upon  it  an  evergreen  sprig  ;  and  their  1. 
spoke   the   Mason's  farewell   as  they  bestowed   their 
last  mystic  gift.     There  was  a  breathless  silence  there 


MASONIC  FUNEEAL   CEREMONIES. 


during  this  scene.  So  still  was  all  around  in  the 
gathered  multitude  of  citizens,  that  they  might  almost 
have  heard  tho  echoes  of  the  acacia  ns  it  fell  with  from- 


WASHINGTON.  203 

bling  lightness  upon  the  coffin-lid.  The  pall-bearers 
placed  their  precious  burden  in  the  tomb's  cold  em- 
brace, earth  was  cast  on  the  threshold,  and  the  words 
were  spoken :  "  Earth  to  eartJi — ashes  to  ashes — dust  to 
dust!"  and  the  entombment  of  WASHINGTON  was  fin- 
ished. The  mystic  public  burial  honors  of  Masonry 
were  given  by  each  brother  with  lifted  hands,  saying 
in  his  heart,  "Alas!  my  Brother!  we  have  knelt  loith 
thee  in  prayer ',  ice  have  pressed  thee  to  our  bosoms,  ive  ivitt 
meet  thee  in  heaven  /"  The  mystic  chain  was  reunited 
in  the  circle  there,  the  cannon  on  the  vessel  and  on 
the  banks  above  them  fired  their  burial  salute,  and 
Mount  Vernon's  tomb  was  left  in  possession  of  its 
noblest  sleeper.  The  sun  was  then  setting,  and  the 
pall  of  night  mantled  the  pathway  of  the  Masonic 
brethren  as  they  sadly  returned  to  their  homes, 

Lodge  No.  22,  at  Alexandria,  had  then  left  on  its  roll 
of  membership  sixty-nine  Masons,  sixty  of  whom  were 
Master  Masons,  and  nine  Entered  Apprentices.  It  met 
on  the  following  day  in  regular  communication,  and 
elected  Colonel  GEORGE  DENEAUE  its  Master.  It  had 
been  presided  over  while  under  its  Pennsylvania  War- 
rant by  three  Masters— viz,  ;  ROBERT  ADAM,  ROBERT 
McCREA,  and  Dr.  PICK,  Under  its  Virginia  Warrant 
it  had  also  had  fhe  same  number — GEORGE  WASH- 
INGTON, JAMES  GILLIS,  and  Dr.  DICK. 

"  Three  there  were,  but  one  was  not, — 
He  lay  where  Cassia  mark'd  the  spot." 

It  had  been  the  custom  of  this  lodge  from  its  first 
organization  to  meet  on  the  festivals  of  St.  John  the 
Evangelist  in  December  and  listen  to  charity  sermons, 


204:  WASHINGTON. 

collect  contributions  for  the  indigent,  and  partake  of 
social  refreshments.  St.  John's  day  in  December, 
1799,  was  duly  observed,  but  all  hilarity  was  dispensed 
with.  It  was  made  a  mourning  day  for  the  loss  of 
WASHINGTON.  Dr.  DICK  installed  Colonel  DENEALE 
as  his  successor  in  the  chair;  but  before  doing  that 
duty,  he  addressed  the  lodge  as  its  retiring  Master. 
Having  made  the  customary  demands  for  charity,  he 
closed  by  saying  in  a  feeling  manner : 

"  Whilst  every  recurrence  of  this  festival  demands  that  we 
distribute  a  portion  of  the  comforts  we  possess  among  those 
of  our  more  immediate  neighbors  who  are  unhappily  desti- 
tute, it  has  also,  hitherto,  invited  us  to  social  and  convivial 
enjoyment.  After  having  fulfilled  the  primary  duties  of  the 
day,  it  has  been  heretofore  our  custom  to  indulge  in  festive 
gayety  ;  and,  indeed,  nothing  can  either  so  full}'  sanction 
such  an  indulgence,  or  capacitate  the  mind  for  a  real  and 
rational  enjoyment  of  it,  as  the  due  observance  of  this  pre- 
liminary injunction. 

"  But  on  the  present  occasion,  my  brethren,  a  cloud  of 
sorrow  surrounds  our  prospects.  A  recent  and  heavy  ca- 
lamity has  obstructed  every  avenue  to  mirth.  Our  great 
and  good  Grand  Master  is  no  more  !  He  who  hath  so  often 
united  in  our  annual  celebrations  is  gone,  to  return  not 
again.  He  whose  presence  was  wont  to  inspire  surround- 
ing multitudes  with  reverence  and  admiration — he  who 
was  but  lately  the  boast  of  his  own  country  and  the  wonder 
of  the  world,  now  lies  cold  and  prostrate  in  his  tomb  !  Thus, 
my  brethren,  is  lost  from  the  treasury  of  the  Universal  Lodge 
its  brightest  jewel ! 

"  Feeble  is  the  language  of  eulogium  when  applied  to  a 
character  of  such  uncommon  worth.  Statues  of  marble  will 


WASHINGTON.  205 

prove  the  love  and  gratitude  of  his  survivors  ;  but  his  own 
virtues  and  his  services  have  already  implanted  a  monu- 
ment far  more  durable  than  these  in  the  bosoms  of  his  coun- 
trymen. May  it  be  particularly  nurtured  by  the  Fraternity 
of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  to  the  end  of  time.  So  mote 
it  be." 

When  this  address  and  the  ceremonies  of  instalment 
were  concluded,  the  lodge,  accompanied  by  Lodge 
No.  47,  walked  in  procession  to  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  where  a  sermon  was  preached  on  the  occasion 
by  the  Kev.  Bro.1  WM.  MAFFIT,  after  which  they  re- 
turned to  the  lodge-room.  On  the  two  succeeding 
Sabbaths  the  Masonic  brethren  of  Alexandria  met  in 
their  lodges,  clothed  themselves  in  mourning,  and  re- 
paired in  procession  to  the  Presbyterian  Church,  where 
sermons  on  the  occasion  of  WASHINGTON'S  death  were 
preached,  on  the  first  by  the  Rev.  Bros.  THOMAS  DAVIS 
and  Dr.  MUIB,  and  on  the  second  by  the  Rev.  Mr. 

TOLLISON. 

The  funeral  of  WASHINGTON  at  Mount  Yernon,  and 
memorial  ceremonies  at  Alexandria,  had  thus  far  been 
conducted  by  the  Masonic  Fraternity ;  but  on  the  22d 
of  the  following  February,  the  citizens  there  assembled 
in  all  their  various  capacities ;  Masonic,  military,  civic, 
and  religious  bodies  uniting  in  accordance  with  a  re- 
commendation of  Congress,  to  honor  the  memory  of 
him  whom  all  had  loved,  and  whose  loss  all  mourned. 
Lodge  No.  22  had,  at  its  meeting  on  the  20th  of  this 
month, 

"  Resolved,  That  the  members  belonging  to  th's  lodge 
wear  on  the  ?2d  instant,  and  for  thirty  days  thereafter,  a 


206  WASHINGTON. 

white  ribbon  through  two  button-holes  on  the  left  side  of 
their  coats,  and  that  the  columns,  orders,  and  deacon's  staffs 
be  shrouded  with  black ;  *******  and  that  the  mem- 
bers of  this  lodge  do  assemble  at  our  lodge-room  precisely 
at  ten  o'clock  on  Saturday,  the  22d  instant,  in  order  to 
evince  the  respect  they  owe  to  their  late  departed  brother, 
General  GEORGE  WASHINGTON." 

Colonel  DENEALE,  the  Master  of  Lodge  No.  22,  was 
selected  by  the  citizens  as  the  officer  of  the  day  for  the 
anniversary,  and  his  lodge  joined  with  Brooke  Lodge, 
and  united  with  the  military  and  various  other  bodies 
of  citizens,  and  walked  through  several  of  the  principal 
streets  of  Alexandria  to  the  Presbyterian  meeting- 
house, where  Dr.  DICK,  late  Master  of  Lodge  No.  22, 
who  had  been  appointed  the  orator  for  the  occasion, 
delivered  a  feeling  and  eloquent  address.  We  have 
already  given  his  eulogium  before  his  brethren  in  tho 
lodge-room,  at  their  first  meeting  after  the  funeral  of 
WASHINGTON,  and  we  here  give  an  extract  from  his 
portraiture  of  him  as  a  man  on  this  public  occasion — 
a  day  set  apart  for  a  united  homage  of  all  American 
citizens  to  his  memory. 

"  Four  millions  of  the  human  race — free  in  their  thoughts 
and  affections,  unrestrained  in  their  actions,  widely  dis- 
persed over  an  extensive  portion  of  the  habitable  globe — are 
seen  devoted  to  a  single  purpose; — a  people  detached  by 
local  causes;  actuated  in  common  life  by  opposite  views,  or 
rivals  in  the  pursuit  of  similar  objects  ;  jealous  in  all  other 
matters  of  general  concern,  are  offering  the  tribute  of  affec- 
tion to  the  memory  of  their  common  friend.  In  vain  shall 
we  examine  t  ic  records  of  antiquity  for  its  parallel.  Worth 


WASHINGTON.  207 

BO  transcendent  as  to  merit  universal  homage,  with  a  cor- 
respondent desire  to  bestow  it,  mark  an  event  in  the  history 
of  our  country  that  may  be  considered  as  a  phenomenon  in 
the  annals  of  man. 

"  Modest  and  unassuming,  yet  dignified  in  his  manners ; 
accessible  and  communicative,  yet  superior  to  familiarity; 
he  inspired  and  preserved  the  love  and  respect  of  all  who 
knew  him.  For  the  promotion  of  all  public  and  useful  un- 
dertakings, he  was  singularly  munificent.  The  indigent 
and  distressed  were  at  all  times  subjects  of  his  sympathy 
and  concern.  His  charity  flowed  in  quiet,  but  constant 
streams  from  a  fountain  that  was  at  no  time  suffered  to 
sustain  the  smallest  diminution.  No  pursuit  or  avocation, 
however  momentous,  was  permitted  to  interrupt  his  syste- 
matic attention  to  the  children  of  want.  His  anxious  solici- 
tude on  this  score  is  pathetically  exemplified  in  a  letter, 
written  in  1775,  at  a  time  when  the  unorganized  state  of 
the  army  might  have  demanded  his  exclusive  concern.  Ad- 
dressing himself  to  the  late  LUND  WASHINGTON,  he  writes : 
'Let  the  hospitality  of  the  house  be  kept  with  respect  to  the 
poor.  Let  no  one  go  away  hungry.  If  any  of  this  kind  of 
people  should  be  in  want  of  corn,  supply  their  necessities, 
provided  it  does  not  encourage  them  in  idleness.  I  have  no 
objection  to  your  giving  my  money  in  charity,  when  you  think 
it  will  be  well  bestowed.  I  mean,  that  it  is  my  desire  that 
it  should  be  done.  You  are  to  consider  that  neither  myself 
nor  my  wife  are  now  in  the  way  to  do  these  good  offices.' 

"  Such,  my  fellow-citizens,  was  the  man  whose  memory 
we  have  assembled  to  honor.  It  has  been  your  peculiar 
felicity  often  to  have  seen  him  on  the  footing  of  social  in- 
timacy. That  the  inhabitants  of  Alexandria  held  a  distin- 
guished place  in  his  affection,  you  have  had  repeated  testi- 
mony. You  have  seen  his  sensibility  awakened  on  occa- 


208  WASHINGTON. 

sions  calculated  to  call  forth  a  display  of  his  partiality.  The 
last  time  we  met  to  offer  our  salutations  and  express  our 
inviolable  attachment  to  the  venerable  sage,  on  his  retiring 
from  the  chief  magistracy  of  the  Union,  you  may  remember 
that  in  telling  you  how  peculiarly  grateful  were  your  expres- 
sions, the  visible  emotions  of  his  great  soul  had  almost  de- 
prived him  of  the  power  of  utterance. 

"But  Heaven  has  reclaimed  its  treasure,  and  AmenVu 
has  lost  its  first  of  patriots  and  best  of  men,  its  shield  in 
war,  in  peace  its  brightest  ornament ;  the  avenger  of  its 
wrongs  ;  the  oracle  of  its  wisdom,  and  the  mirror  of  its  per- 
fection. His  fair  fame,  secure  in  its  immortality,  shall  shine 
through  countless  ages  with  undiminished  lustre.  It  shall 
be  the  statesman's  polar-star,  the  hero's  destiny,  the  boast 
of  age,  the  companion  of  maturity,  and  the  goal  of  youth. 
It  shall  be  the  last  national  office  of  hoary  dotage  to  teach 
the  infant,  that  hangs  on  his  trembling  knee,  to  lisp  the 
name  of  WASHINGTON  1" 

Masonic  records  state  that  prayers  were  also  de- 
livered on  this  occasion  by  the  Rev.  Bros.  Dr.  Mum, 
THOMAS  DAVIS,  and  WM.  MAFFIT,  after  which  the  breth- 
ren returned  to  their  rooms,  and  the  lodge  was  closed 
in  harmony  at  three  o'clock. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

Rumor  of  WASHINGTON'S  death  reaches  Congress  at  Philadelphia.—  Becomes 
certain. — Becomes  known  in  all  parts  of  the  country. — General  sorrow. — 
Societies  of  the  Cincinnati  and  Masonic  lodges  deeply  mourn  his  death. — 
Congress  decrees  a  national  mourning  and  funeral  ceremonies  at  Phila- 
delphia.— Masonic  Fraternity  invited  to  attend. — Grand  Lodge  of  Penn- 
sylvania convened  on  the  occasion. — Grand  Master's  address. — Resolutions 
of  the  Grand  Lodge. — It  unites  with  its  subordinates  in  the  procession. — 
General  LEE  delivers  the  oration. — Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania  meet  on 
the  following  day. — Resolutions  to  wear  mourning. — Sorrow  lodge  held 
by  French  Lodge  in  Philadelphia. — Oration  before  it  by  SIMON  CHAU- 
DRON. — Oration  published  and  sent  to  public  officers  and  Mrs.  WASHING- 
TON.— Her  acknowledgment  of  it  by  Mr.  LEAR. — First  news  of  WASHING- 
TON'S death  in  New  York. — Action  of  the  Common  Council. — The  Grand 
Lodge  of  New  York  convened. — Its  action  and  resolutions  on  the  occa- 
sion.— Masonic  Fraternity  of  New  York  join  in  the  public  funeral  cere- 
monies.— Bible  on  which  WASHINGTON'S  first  oath  as  President  was  taken 
carried  in  the  procession. — News  of  WASHINGTON'S  death  reaches  Boston. 
— Celebration  of  the  "Landing  of  the  Pilgrims"  then  being  held. — Sensa- 
tions produced. — Action  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Massachusetts. — Lodges 
unite  with  citizens  in  funeral  ceremonies. — Grand  Lodge  of  Massachusetts 
address  a  letter  of  condolence  to  Mrs.  WASHINGTON,  soliciting  a  lock  of  her 
husband's  hair. — Her  reply,  granting  the  request. — Masonic  celebration 
at  Boston,  February  11. — Ceremonies  on  that  occasion. — Ceremonies  by 
St.  John's  Lodge  at  Boston. — Masonic  funeral  ceremonies  in  New  Hamp- 
shire.— In  Vermont. — In  Rhode  Island. — In  Connecticut. — Masonic  Fra- 
ternity on  all  such  occasions  given  a  post  of  honor. — Funeral  ceremonies 
in  Fredericksburg,  Va.,  by  the  lodge  in  which  WASHINGTON  had  been 
made  a  Mason. — Address  by  Major  BENJAMIN  DAY,  Grand  Master  of  Vir- 
ginia, on  that  occasion. — Public  ceremonials  at  Fredericksburg. — Inven- 
tory of  WASHINGTON'S  personal  estate  shows  various  Masonic  articles. — 
List  and  price  of  them  as  given. — Conclusion. 

RUMOR  of  WASHINGTON'S  death  reached 
Philadelphia,  where  Congress  was  sitting, 
on  Wednesday,  December  18th,  the  day  of 
his  funeral.  The  next  day  the  sad  news 
became  painfully  certain,  and  was  for- 


210  WASHINGTON. 

mallj  announced  by  the  President  to  Congress.  It 
soon  became  known  in  all  parts  of  the  country,  and 
produced  more  profound  emotions  of  sorrow  than  had 
been  felt  by  the  American  people  for  the  loss  of  any 
citizen.  The  great  heart  of  the  nation  swelled  for  a 
moment  with  grief,  and  then  beat  with  rapid  throbs  of 
unwonted  agony.  The  National  Congress,  State  le- 
gislatures, municipal  bodies,  religious  societies,  civic 
and  scientific  associations,  military  organizations,  and 
all  classes  of  citizens  felt  and  manifested  a  common 
bereavement. 

But  while  these  all  combined  to  express  their  deep 
sense  of  the  national  affliction,  two  other  associations, 
with  which  WASHINGTON  had  been  intimately  connected, 
joined  in  the  common  bewailment  with  deep  expres- 
sions of  fraternal  grief.  These  were  the  societies  of 
the  Cincinnati  and  the  Masonic  Lodges  of  America. 
With  the  Cincinnati,  WASHINGTON  had  held  from  its 
first  organization  the  highest  official  membership,  and 
they  mourned  their  chief  with  processions,  eulogies, 
and  sable  habiliments  suited  to  the  genius  of  that  in- 
stitution. The  Masonic  Fraternity,  too,  had  long*  re- 
garded him  as  the  chief  ornament  of  their  society,  and 
wherever  funeral  ceremonies  were  held,  they  joined 
their  fellow-citizens,  with  their  emblems  draped  in 
symbolic  sorrow,  and  expressed  a  mournful  remem- 
brance of  their  loved  and  departed  brother  by  many 
ancient  and  hallowed  forms  peculiar  to  their  fra- 
ternity. 

The  genius  of  America  lent  its  aid  to  express  a 
nation's  woe.  The  artisan  gave  his  cunning  skill,  the 
artist  all  the  rich  hues  of  his  pencil,  the  poet  all  the 


WASHINGTON.  211 

inspiration  of  his  pen,  the  orator  all  his  melting  pathos, 
and  fancy  wove  its  fairest  garlands  to  express  in  every 
varied  form  one  common  sorrow;  and  eulogies  and 
dirges,  catafalcos  and  urns,  gave  expression  to  the  grief 
of  America  at  her  first  great  national  bereavement. 

Congress  designated  the  26th  of  December  as  the 
day  on  which  a  national  tribute  should  be  paid  by  that 
body  to  the  memory  of  WASHINGTON,  and  all  other 
public  bodies  in  and  about  Philadelphia  were  invited 
to  join  on  the  occasion.'  The  Masonic  Fraternity  were 
assigned  a  distinguished  place  in  the  procession  on 
that  day,  it  being  among  the  chief  mourners.  Major- 
General  HENRY  LEE,  who  was  the  orator  of  the  day, 
was  himself  a  Mason  and  member  of  Hiram  Lodge 
No.  59,  at  "Westmoreland  Court  House,  Virginia. 

The  invitation  by  Congress  to  the  Masonic  Frater- 
nity to  join  in  the  funeral  solemnities  having  been  re- 
ceived by  the  Grand  Master  of  Pennsylvania,  he  issued 
his  orders  on  the  24th,  convening  his  Grand  Lodge  at 
ten  o'clock  on  the  day  appointed.  That  body  accord- 
ingly met  in  extra  Grand  Communication  on  that  day, 
and  were  thus  addressed  by  their  Grand  Master  JONA- 
THAN BAYARD  SMITH  : 

• 

"Right   Worshipful   Deputy  Grand   Master,  Senior   and 

Junior  Grand  Wardens,  and  Brethren.  You  have  been 
called  to  hold  this  special  convention  in  consequence  of  an 
invitation  to  join  the  representatives  of  a  great  and  grateful 
people  in  a  solemn  act  of  duty.  With  respect  to  the  unex- 
pectedly early  moment  of  executing1  this  duty,  we  have  been 
anticipated;  but  by  the  death  of  General  GEORGE  WASHING- 
TON, we  have  felt  ourselves  impelled,  irresistibly  impelled, 
to  yield  to  the  strongest  emotion  of  the  heart,  and  cordially 


212  WASHINGTON. 

to  join  our  fellow-citizens .  in  public  evidences  of  estimation 
and  regret. 

"  The  interesting  event  having  been  officially  communi- 
cated to  the  public,  I  immediately  directed  that  the  sable 
emblements  of  our  order  should  be  borne  in  Grand  Lodge 
by  the  members  at  our  next  communication,  then  to  take 
place  in  a  few  days,  wishing  to  give  to  ulterior  orders  on 
the  occasion  the  force  and  the  dignity  of  .the  spontaneous 
voice  of  the  collected  craft  of  Pennsylvania. 

"  While  we  respectfully  leave  to  abler  hands,  to  the  ap 
pointed  organ  of  the  councils  of  the  United  States,  to  the 
common  voice  of  his  country  and  of  mankind,  and  to  succeed- 
ing ages,  which  will  venerate  his  name  as  long  as  they  shall 
experience  the  happy  effects  of  his  civic  virtues  and  public 
services,  duly  to  appreciate  his  worth,  the  Masons  of  Penn- 
sylvania, impressed  with  their  more  immediate  Masonic 
connections  and  character,  may  be  allowed  to  deplore  that 
their  friend,  their  brother,  their  father  is  gone.  Yes,  my 
brethren,  as  such  the  Masons  of  Pennsylvania  did  long  ago 
recognize  him.  It  is  now  twenty-one  years  since  they,  by 
an  unanimous  suffrage,  proposed  him  as  Grand  Master  of 
Masons  for  the  United  States.  They  have  on  sundry  occa- 
sions, and  very  lately,  given  attestations  of  unabated  at- 
tachment to  his  person,  and  a  high  sense  of  his  unremitting 
endeavors  in  promoting  order,  union,  and  brotherly  affec- 
tion among  us,  and  in  carrying  forth  the  principles  of  the 
lodge  into  every  walk  of  life.  In  our  archives  are  found 
flattering  evidences  of  his  reciprocated  esteem  and  appro- 
bation of  our  order,  as  relative  more  especially  to  those  two 
chiefest  concerns  of  man,  religion  and  government.  The 
public  have  seen  him  gracing  and  dignifying  our  proces- 
sions by  his  attendance.  We  have  been  made  the  almoners 
uud  dispensers  of  his  charitable  beneficence.  But,  my 


WASHINGTON.  213 

brethren,  this  pleasing  intercourse  is  suspended.  Since  our 
last  communication,  this  our  brother  has  been  removed  from 
a  terrene  to  expand  his  ample  mind  in  the  boundless  duties 
and  enjoyments  of  a  celestial  lodge  of  that  eternal  temple 
(to  use  his  own  expression  to  our  Grand  Lodge),  whose 
builder  'is  the  Great  Architect  of  the  Universe.  The  Old  as 
well  as  the  New  World  reveres  his  name.  He  was  indeed 
an  illustrious  brother,  citizen,  and  chief, — in  peace  and  in 
war,  in  council  and  in  action,  pre-eminent.  The  Masons  of 
Pennsylvania  have  exulted  that  the  name  of  WASHINGTON 
stood  enrolled  on  their  list  of  brethren ;  and  they  will 
cherish  the  remembrance  of  his  virtues  and  his  services  as 
a  rich  legacy  for  their  emulous  example.  If  devotion  of 
time  and  talents  to  ameliorate  the  state  of  man  be  a  virtue  ; 
if  obeying  the  calls  of  his  country  in  times  of  the  greatest 
difficulty  and  danger,  at  every  risk,  be  a  Masonic  duty;  of 
that  virtue  may  Masonry  boast  that  this  our  WASHINGTON 
has  exhibited  an  instance  beyond  former  example  brilliant, 
and  for  the  exercise  of  this  duty  will  our  WASHINGTON  ever 
stand  conspicuous  in  the  foremost  rank.  Is  a  love  of  order 
and  sacred  regard  to  the  laws  of  the  social  compact  char- 
acteristic of  Masons  ?  For  his  exemplary  adherence  to  these 
Masonic  virtues,  through  all  the  vicissitudes  and  variegated 
difficulties  of  a  Revolutionary  War,  has  our  WASHINGTON  re- 
ceived the  plaudits  of  thirteen  sovereign  States. 

"  It  now  remains,  my  brethren,  that  in  our  several  spheres 
we  do  likewise  as  our  brother  has  done  ;  that  by  show- 
ing respect  to  merit,  it  appear  that  we  value  it ;  that 
by  cordial  regret  on  the  translation  of  virtue  from  among 
us,  we  evidence*  that  we  revere  it ;  and  while  we  drop  our 
portion  amid  the  universal  effusion  of  sorrow  on  this  mourn- 
ful occasion,  we  anticipate  for  our  lamented  brother  tho 
applause  of  nations  and  the  veneration  of  ages. 


WASHINGTON. 

"I  detain  you  no  longer.  The  government  oi  our  eoimtiy 
has  this  day  honorably  distinguished  us  as  among  the  chief 
mourners  of  WASHINGTON, — its  friend,  its  protector,  and  its 
ornament.  The  destined  hour  has  come,  and  we  move  to 
the  summons." 

It  was  then 

"fiesolved,  That  this  Grand  Lodge  are  deeply  and  sin- 
cerely afflicted  with  the  melancholy  event  which  has  oc- 
casioned this  communication,  and  will  immediately  proceed 
to  join  in  the  honors  about  to  be  shown  to  the  memory  of 
our  illustrious  deceased  brother." 

The  Grand  Master  then  appointed  Colonel  I'HOMAS 
PROCTOR  master  of  ceremonies  for  the  day.  The 
brethren  then  formed  in  due  order  in  the  Grand 
Lodge-room,  and  moving  from  thence  joined  the  gen- 
eral procession,  which  proceeded  to  Zion  Church, 
where  religious  services  were  performed  by  the  Rev. 
Dr.  WHITE,  and  the  oration  was  delivered  by  General 
LEE  ;  after  which  they  returned  to  the  Grand  Loclge- 
voom,  and  their  labors  for  the  day  were  closed. 

Upon  the  following  day  the  Grand  Lodge  again  met, 
the  Grand  Master  recalled  their  attention  to  the  mourn- 
ful occasion  of  the  preceding  day,  and  it  was  unani- 
mously 

"Resolved,  That  the  room  committee  be  directed  to  put 
the  Grand  Lodge-room  in  mourning,  in  such  a  manner  as 
they  shall  conceive  to  be  most  suitable  and  proper  to  testify 
our  fraternal  attachment  to  our  late  Brother  WASHINGTON,  and 
the  high  veneration  we  entertain  for  his  memory  and  virtues. 

"  Resolved,  That  as  a  further  mark  of  our  warm  regard 


WASHINGTON.  215 

for  the  memory  of  our  deceased  brother,  and  deep  affliction 
for  the  loss  we  have  sustained  by  his  death,  the  members  of 
the  Grand  Lodge  wear  black  crape  on  their  left  arm,  as 
recommended  by  the  President  and  Congress  to  the  citizens 
of  the  United  States  ;  and  that  the  emblems  on  their  aprons 
be  covered  with  black  for  the  term  of  six  months,  being 
until  St.  John's  day  next ;  and  that  the  same  be  recom- 
mended to  all  the  lodges  under  the  jurisdiction  of  this  Grand 
Lodge." 

There  existed  in  Philadelphia  at  that  time,  under  a 
warrant  from  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania,  a 
French  Lodge  of  Ancient  York  Masons,t  known  as 
"  L'Amenite,  No.  71."  On  the  following  week  (January 
1,  1800),  a  sorrow  lodge  was  held  by  these  brethren, 
which  was  attended  by  the  officers  of  the  Grand  Lodge, 
and  a  great  number  of  the  Fraternity  in  that  city. 
After  the  conclusion  of  ceremonies  peculiar  to  such  a 
lodge,  an  oration  was  delivered  by  its  orator,  SIMON 
CHAUDKON,  in  the  French  language,  which  was  followed 
by  an  address  in  English  by  the  Master,  JOSEPH  DE  LA 
GRANGE.  This  oration  was  published  in  both  the 
French  and  English  languages,  and  copies  were  sent 
to  the  President  and  Vice-president  of  the  United 
States,  to  the  governor  of  Pennsylvania,  and  to  Mrs. 
WASHINGTON  at  Mount  Yernon.  They  all  acknow- 
ledged their  receipt  by  letter;  and  Mrs.  WASHINGTON'S, 
by  the  hand  of  the  private  secretary  of  her  late  hus- 
band, was  as  follows : 

"MOUNT  VEBNON,  May  15,  1800. 

«  SIR — In  compliance  with  Mrs.  WASHINGTON'S  request,  I 
Lave  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  letter  to 


216  WASHINGTON. 

her  of  the  15th  of  March,  with  three  copies  of  the  funeral 
oration  which  the  French  Lodge,  L'Amenite,  in  Philadelphia, 
have  consecrated  to  the  memory  of  her  husband. 

"  Impressed  with  a  lively  sense  of  this  testimonial  of  re- 
spect and  veneration  paid  to  the  memory  of  the  partner  of 
her  heart,  Mrs.  WASHINGTON  begs  the  lodge  will  be  assured 
of  her  grateful  acknowledgments  ;  and  you  will  be  pleased 
to  accept  her  best  thanks  for  the  obliging  manner  in  which 
you  have  communicated  their  sympathy  in  her  affliction  and 
irreparable  loss. 

"  I  am,  sir, 

"  Very  respectfully, 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 

"  TOBIAS  LEAR, 
"  Secretary  to  the  late  General  WASHINGTON." 

The  news  of  WASHINGTON'S  death  reached  New  York 
on  Friday,  December  20th.  The  Common  Council  on 
that  day  publicly  announced  it  to  the  citizens,  and 
signified  to  the  different  religious  societies  of  the  city 
their  wish  that  their  churches  be  draped  in  mourning, 
and  their  bells  muffled  and  tolled  every  day  from  twelve 
till  one  o'clock  until  the  24th  inclusive. 

Upon  Monday,  the  23d,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New 
York  was  convened  in  an  extra  Grand  Communication. 
General  JACOB  MORTON,  the  Deputy  Grand  Master,  pre- 
sided on  the  occasion,  and 

"Announced  that  the  reason  for  convening  this  extra 
meeting  of  the  Grand  Lodge  was,  the  mournful  intelligence 
of  the  death  of  their  illustrious  and  much  beloved  Brother 
GEORGE  WASHINGTON,  late  President  of  the  United  States, 
and  commander-in-chief  of  the  army  ;  and  urged  with  energy 


WASHINGTON.  217 

and  respectful  expressions  the  duties  which  belong  to  every 
Mason  on  such  a  painful  event,  and  the  necessity  of  this 
Grand  Lodge  to  take  such  steps  as  are  proper  and  Masonic, 
to  pay  the  tribute  of  respect  due  to  a  brother,  who,  being 
called  to  the  Celestial  Lodge  above,  lives  in  the  heart  of  the 
virtuous  and  the  wise. 

"  Whereupon  the  following  was  decreed  :  '  The  Grand 
Lodge,  with  the  deepest  and  sincerest  sorrow,  announces  to 
the  Lodges  under  its  jurisdiction  the  death  of  their  illus- 
trious and  much  beloved  Brother  GEORGE  WASHINGTON,  late 
President  of  the  United  States,  and  commander-in-chief  of 
its  army.  He  closed  his  useful  and  honorable  life  at  his 
seat  at  Mount  Vernon  on  the  night  of  the  14th  instant,  in 
the  68th  year  of  his  age. 

" '  When,  in  the  dispensations  of  Providence,  the  great  and 
the  good,  when  those  whom  we  love  and  revere  sink  into 
the  silent  tomb,  the  afflicted  heart  seeks  its  solace  in  render- 
ing to  their  memories  every  honorable  tribute  which  affec- 
tionate gratitude  can  devise.  This  is  a  feeling  engrafted 
in  our  natures,  as  an  incentive  to  honorable  ambition  ;  and 
the  expression  of  those  feelings  is  a  duty  which  the  customs 
of  civil  society  have  enjoined  ;  but  in  decreeing  a  tribute 
of  respect  to  our  deceased  brother  on  this  occasion,  there 
is  naught  we  can  devise  which  will  fully  evince  our  venera- 
tion of  his  virtues  or  our  sorrow  for  hie  loss. 

"  '  To  decree  honor  to  that  illustrious  name  upon  which 
glory  hath  already  exhausted  all  her  store  ;  to  render  a  trib- 
ute of  affection  to  his  memory  who  lived  in  the  hearts  of  a 
grateful  people,  are  duties  which  we  feel  we  can  never  satis- 
factorily perform.  That  humble  tribute  which  we  are  en- 
abled to  pay,  we  decree. 

"  'Resolved,  Therefore,  that  all  the  lodges  under  our  juris- 
diction be  clothed  in  mourning  for  the  space  of  six  months, 

10 


218  WASHINGTON. 

and  that  the  brethren  also  wear  mourning  for  the  samo 
space  of  time. 

" '  Resolved,  That  a  committee  be  appointed  to  erect  at 
the  expense  of  this  Grand  Lodge  a  monumental  memorial  to 
the  virtues  of  our  illustrious  brother,  to  be  placed  in  the 
room  occupied  by  the  Grand  Lodge  for  its  sittings  ;  and  that 
the  Right  Worshipful  JACOB  MORTON,  Deputy  Grand  Master  ; 
the  Right  Worshipful  MARTIN  HOFFMAN,  Senior  Grand  War- 
den ;  the  Right  Worshipful  ABRAHAM  SKINNER,  Junior  Grand 
Warden  ;  the  Right  Worshipful  REVIER  JOHN  VANDEN  BROECK, 
Grand  Secretary  ;  and  the  Worshipful  Brethren  CADWALA- 
DER  D. .  GOLDEN  and  PETER  IRVIN  be  a  committee  for  that 
purpose. 

" '  Resolved,  That  the  said  committee  have  authority  to 
meet  and  concur  with  such  other  committees  of  our  fellow- 
citizens,  as  shall  be  appointed  to  devise  some  public  testi- 
monials of  respect  and  veneration  to  the  memory  of  our  de- 
parted brother. 

"  '  Resolved,  That  the  Grand  Secretary  be  directed  to  write 
circular  letters  to  the  different  Grand  Lodges  in  the  United 
States,  condoling  with  them  on  the  loss  which  we  have  sus- 
tained in  the  death  of  our  beloved  brother,  who  was  the 
chief  ornament  of  his  country,  and  the  pride  of  our  in- 
stitution. 

"'Resolved,  That  the  Grand  Secretary  be  directed  to 
forward  immediately  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  to  the 
several  lodges  in  this  city/  n 

In  accordance  with  these  resolutions,  the  Masonic 
Fraternity  joined  in  the  public  proceedings  held  in  the 
city  of  New  York  on  the  31st  of  December,  to  express 
sorrow  at  the  death  of  WASHINGTON.  The  place  as- 
signed them  was  among  the  chief  mourners.  The 


WASHINGTON.  219 

Bible  on  which  WASHINGTON  had  taken  his  first  oath  of 
office  as  President  of  the  United  States  was  borne  be- 
fore the  Grand  Master,  and  all  the  decorations  they 
carried  in  the  procession  were  mournfully  impressive. 
They  marched  to  St.  Paul's  Church,  where  an  oration 
was  delivered  by  GOUVERNEUB  MOBBIS,  accompanied  by 
appropriate  music. 

The  tidings  of  WASHINGTON'S  death  reached  Boston 
on  the  23d  of  December,  during  a  celebration  held  that 
day  to  commemorate  the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims  in 
1620.  In  the  morning  a  rumor  came  that  WASHINGTON 
was  dead !  Before  noon  its  truth  was  confirmed.  Com- 
mon festivals  upon  such  intelligence  would  have  been 
omitted.  But  the  impressions  arising  from  the  cele- 
bration were  thought  not  inconsistent  with  a  due 
sensibility  to  the  sad  event  which  was  announced. 
The  usual  expressions  of  gayety  had  no  place,  and  the 
guests  assembled  together  rather  for  condolence  than 
festivity. 

On  the  28th  of  this  month  the  following  circular  was 
issued  by  the  Grand  Master  of  Massachusetts  to  the 
Fraternity  in  that  State  : 

"  GKAND  LODGE  OF  MASSACHUSETTS, 

BOSTON,  December  28,  A.D.  1799. 

[L.  s.]  "  To  testify  their  veneration  of  the  exalted  char- 
acter and  pre-eminent  virtues,  and  their  respect  for 
the  memory  of  their  highly  distinguished  Brother  GEORGE 
WASHINGTON,  it  is  recommended  to  the  brethren  of  the  Fra- 
ternity of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  in  the  Commonwealth 
of  Massachusetts  to  wear,  for  the  term  of  six  weeks,  com- 
mencing on  the  1st  day  of  January,  1800,  a  black  crape  OD 


WASHINGTON. 


the  left  arm  below  the  elbow,  interwoven  with  a  narrow 
ribbon  running1  direct. 

"  By  order  of  the  Most  Worshipful, 

"  SAMUEL  DUNN,  Esq., 

u  DANIEL  OLIVER,  Grand  Secretary.'1'1 

Some  of  the  lodges  in  and  about  Boston  solemnized 
the  event  of  WASHINGTON'S  death,  either  in  their  pri- 
vate meetings  of  by  uniting  with  citizens  in  public 
ceremonies  soon  after  this  order  was  given;  but  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  that  jurisdiction  took  no  steps  towards 
a  public  testimonial  of  their  respect  for  his  memory 
until  the  15th  of  the  following  month  (January,  1800), 
when  they  resolved  to  pay  funeral  honors  to  his  memo- 
ry 011  the  22d  of  February.  But  finding  that  the  au- 
thorities of  the  General  and  State  governments  had 
also  designated  that  day  for  public  ceremonies  in 
honor  of  WASHINGTON,  it  was  subsequently  thought  by 
ihe  Grand  Lodge,  that  distinct  Masonic  ceremonies 
were  more  appropriate  for  the  Fraternity,  and  they 
changed  the  time  of  their  own  funeral  ceremonies  from 
the  22d  to  the  llth  of  February. 

The  Grand  Lodge  of  Massachusetts  had,  however, 
previous  to  this,  written  a  letter  of  condolence  to  Mrs. 
WASHINGTON,  and  solicited  a  lock  of  her  deceased  hus- 
band's hair.  This  she  complied  with,  as  the  following 
correspondence  shows : 

"BOSTON,  January  11,  1800. 

"MADAM — The  Grand  Lodge  of  the  Commonwealth  of 
Massachusetts  have  deeply  participated  in  the  general  grief 


WASHINGTON.  221 

of  their  fellow-citizens,  on  the  melancholy  occasion  of  the 
death  of  their  beloved  WASHINGTON. 

"  As  Americans,  they  have  lamented  the  loss  of  the  chief 
who  led  their  armies  to  victory,  and  their  country  to  glory  ; 
but  as  Masons  they  have  wept  the  dissolution  of  that  en- 
dearing relation  by  which  they  were  enabled  to  call  him 
their  friend  and  their  brother.  They  presume  not  to  offer 
you  those  consolations  which  might  alleviate  the  weight  of 
common  sorrows,  for  they  are  themselves  inconsolable.  The 
object  of  this  address  is  not  to  interrupt  the  sacred  offices 
of  grief  like  yours  ;  but  whilst  they  are  mingling  tears  with 
each  other  on  the  common  calamity,  to  condole  with  you  on 
the  irreparable  misfortune  which  you  have  individually  ex- 
perienced. 

"  To  their  expressions  of  sympathy  on  this  solemn  dis- 
pensation, the  Grand  Lodge  have  subjoined  an  order,  that  a 
Golden  Urn  be  prepared  as  a  deposit  for  a  lock  of  hair,  an 
invaluable  relique  of  the  Hero  and  the  Patriot  whom  their 
wishes  would  immortalize  ;  and  that  it  be  preserved  with 
the  jewels  and  regalia  of  the  society. 

"  Should  this  favor  be  granted,  madam,  it  will  be  cher- 
ished as  the  most  precious  jewel  in  the  cabinet  of  the  lodge, 
as  the  memory  of  his  virtues  will  forever  be  in  the  hearts  of 
its  members.  We  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  highest 
respect,  your  most  obedient  servants, 

"  JOHN  WARREN, 
"  PAUL  REVERE, 
"  JOSIAH  BARTLETT. 
MABTHA  WASHINGTON." 


To  this  request  Mrs.  WASHINGTON  replied  through 
Mr.  LEAH,  inclosing  a  lock  of  WASHINGTON'S  hair,  which 
was  duly  received. 


222  WASHINGTON. 

"  MOUNT  YEHNON,  January  27,  1800. 

"  GENTLEMEN — Mrs.  WASHINGTON  has  received,  with  sensi- 
bility, your  letter  of  the  llth  instant,  inclosing  a  vote  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Massachusetts,  requesting  a  lock  of  her 
deceased  husband's  hair,  to  be  preserved  in  a  Golden  Urn, 
with  the  jewels  and  regalia  of  the  Grand  Lodge. 

"  In  complying  with  this  request  by  sending  the  lock  of 
hair  which  you  will  find  inclosed,  Mrs.  WASHINGTON  begs  me 
to  assure  you  that  she  views  with  gratitude  the  tributes  of 
respect  and  affection  paid  to  the  memory  of  her  dear  de- 
ceased husband  ;  and  receives  with  a  feeling  heart  the  ex- 
pressions of  sympathy  contained  in  your  letter. 

"  With  great  respect  and  esteem,  I  have  the  honor  to  be, 
gentlemen,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

"  TOBIAS  LEAR. 
"JOHN  WABBIN,       \ 

"  PAUL  REVERE,        V  Past  Grand  Masters." 
"  JOSIAH  BAETLETT,  ) 

Agreeably  to  previous  notice,  upon  the  lltli  of  Feb- 
ruary, the  Grand  Lodge  performed  Masonic  funeral 
ceremonies  in  honor  of  their  illustrious  brother.  At 
eight  o'clock  in  the  morning  the  bells  commenced  toll- 
ing, and  at  eleven  a  grand  procession,  composed  of 
upwards  of  sixteen  hundred  brethren,  was  formed  at 
the  Old  State  House,  and  moved  in  Masonic  order. 
Each  brother  bore  a  sprig  of  acacia,  and  the  Golden 
Urn  that  contained  the  lock  of  WASHINGTON'S  hair  was 
borne  by  six  distinguished  brethren.  Many  appro- 
priate devices  and  emblems  decorated  the  procession, 
and  it  was  probably  the  most  imposing  one  the  Fra- 
ternity had  ever  formed  in  America.  It  passed  through 


WASHINGTON.  223 

several  of  the  principal  streets  of  Boston  to  the  Old 
South  Meeting  House,  where  public  solemnities  were 
performed,  with  prayers,  odes,  dirges,  and  a  eulogy  by 
Dr.  TIMOTHY  BIGELOW.  From  the  Old  South  Church 
the  procession  then  moved  to  the  Stone  Chapel,  where 
a  funeral  service  was  performed  by  the  Eev.  Brother 
BENTLEY,  Grand  Chaplain,  assisted  by  the  Eev.  Brother 
Dr.  WALTER.  Flowers  were  then  strewn,  the  acacia 
deposited,  and  the  brethren  returned  to  the  Old  State 
.House,  where  the  procession  had  formed,  and  there 
separated.  The  Golden  Urn,  with  its  precious  treasure 
was  deposited  in  the  archives  of  the  Grand  Lodge, 
where  it  has  since  remained. 

St.  John's  Lodge,  at  Boston,  the  oldest  Masonic 
daughter  of  England  on  this  continent,  held  in  its  hall, 
one  week  previous  to  the  above  Grand  Lodge  proceed- 
ings, private  funeral  solemnities,  at  which  a  eulogy 
was  delivered  by  Bro.  GEORGE  BLAKE.  At  a  meeting 
of  that  lodge,  held  on  the  26th  of  March,  it  was  voted 
that  a  copy  of  that  eulogy,  handsomely  bound,  together 
with  a  Golden  Medal,  be  transmitted  to  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  England,  accompanied  with  an  address ;  and  a  com- 
mittee was  appointed  to  form  the  address  and  trans- 
mit these  memorials  to  their  mother  Grand  Lodge ;  but 
we  have  failed  to  find  the  evidence  that  it  was  carried 
into  effect. 

In  New  Hampshire,  Masonic  funeral  honors  to 
WASHINGTON  were  shown  by  most  of  the  lodges  in  that 
State,  by  joining  with  the  citizens  at  large,  in  testify- 
ing grief  for  his  loss  and  respect  for  his  memory.  The 
New  Hampshire  Gazette  of  January  8,  1800,  contains 
the  following  paragraph : 


224:  WASHINGTON. 

"The  Grand  Lodge  of  New  Hampshire  are  unanimous  in 
opinion,  that  to  mourn  with  our  fellow-citizens  at  large, 
would  be  more  respectable  to  our  late  illustrious  brother, 
and  more  honorable,  than  particular  society  lodges  of 
mourning.  The  loss  is  deep  and  universal  ;  so  ought  to  be 
our  testimonials  of  respect  decent  and  uniform  throughout 
the  United  States.  But  in  our  lodges  will  be  the  seat  of 
sorrow." 

NATHANIEL  ADAMS  was  at  that  time  the  Grand  Master 
of  Masons  in  New  Hampshire,  and  in  his  "  Annals  of 
Portsmouth"  he  says : 

"  1799. — Tuesday,  the  31st  day  of  December,  was  set 
apart  to  commemorate  the  death  of  the  illustrious  WASHING- 
TON, who  departed  this  life  on  the  14th  of  this  month.  At 
an  early  hour  all  public  offices,  stores,  and  shops  were 
closed.  Business  and  pleasure  were  suspended.  At  cloven 
o'clock  a  procession  moved  from  the  Assembly-room  to  St. 
John's  Church,  in  the  following  order  : 

"  The  companies  of  Artillery,  Light  Infantry,  and  Gover- 
nor Oilman's  Blues,  with  muffled  drums,  music  in  crape, 
arms  reversed,  side-arms  with  black  bows  ;  martial  music 
playing  the  Dead  March  in  Saul ;  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New 
Hampshire,  accompanied  by  St.  John's  Lodge,  and  many 
visiting  brethren  in  the  habiliments  of  their  order ;  the 
orator  and  rector  of  St.  John's  Church  ;  United  States  mili- 
tary officers  ;  commissioned  officers  of  the  militia ;  select- 
men;  clergy;  citizens  and  strangers  two  and  two. 

"When  the  procession  reached  the  church,  a  solemn  piece 
of  music  was  performed  on  the  organ.  Rev.  Mr.  \VILLARD 
read  the  service  of  the  church,  and  JONATHAN  MEWELL,  Esq., 
pronounced  an  eulogy  on  the  sorrowful  occasion.  A  vast 
concourse  of  people  attended,  and  almost  every  individual 


WASHINGTON.  225 

of  respectability  wore  a  crape  as  a  badge  of  mourning,  and 
all  the  shipping  in  the  harbor  hoisted  their  flags  half-mast 
high." 

Although  the  ceremonies  on  this  occasion  were  not 
designed  as  Masonic,  yet  the  ode  which  was  sung  was 
strictly  so.  It  was  composed  by  the  Kev.  Brother 
GEOKGE  RICHARDS  ;  and  so  highly  did  the  brethren  of 
St.  John's  Lodge  appreciate  it,  that,  at  their  next  meet- 
ing, they  voted  that  it  be  sung  each  lodge-night  for  the 
three  following  months,  and  that  all  other  songs  be  ex- 
cluded during  that  time. 

The  news  of  the  death  of  WASHINGTON  reached  Ben- 
nington,  Vermont,  on  the  25th  of  December.  The  court 
of  the  county  was  there  in  session,  and  upon  the  sad 
event  being  therein  announced,  it  was  adjourned  for 
the  day,  and  in  the  evening  a  large  meeting  was  held, 
at  which  ISAAC  TICHNEOB,  the  governor  of  the  State,  pre- 
sided ;  and  it  was  determined  that  a  public  demonstra- 
tion of  sorrow  should  be  made  by  a  procession  and 
suitable  discourses  on  Friday  the  27th. 

At  two  o'clock  on  that  day,  a  large  number  of  citizens 
convened  at  the  courthouse,  and  a  procession  was 
formed,  in  which  the  Masonic  Fraternity  occupied  a 
conspicuous  place.  With  muffled  drums  and  music 
playing  a  solemn  dirge,  the  procession  moved  to  the 
church,  where  the  Rev.  Mr.  SWEET  delivered  a  discourse 
to  the  general  audience,  after  which,  ANTHONY  HASWELL 
delivered  an  oration  in  behalf  of  the  Masonic  breth- 
ren. The  ceremonies  at  the  church  were  closed  by  an 
ode  prepared  by  Brother  HASWELL  for  the  occasion. 
The  procession  then  returned  to  the  courthouse, 

10* 


226  WASHINGTON. 

where  the  Fraternity  partook  of  a  repast  prepa/ed  for 
them.  By  recommendation  of  the  Grand  Master  of 
Vermont,  the  brethren  there  wore  a  badge  of  mourning 
for  WASHINGTON  six  months. 

In  Khode  Island,  also,  the  principal  demonstrations 
of  sorrow  for  the  death  of  WASHINGTON,  were  in  con- 
junction with  the  public  ceremonies  of  all  classes  of 
citizens  in  that  State.  As  soon  as  his  death  became 
known,  the  Grand  Master  of  Masons  in  that  jurisdic- 
tion issued  the  following  order  : 

"  By  order  of  the  Most  Worshipful  PELEG  CLARK,  Grand 
Master  of  the  State  of  Rhode  Island. 

"All  brethren  under  the  jurisdiction  of  this  Grand  Lodge, 
are  required  to  wear  a  black  scarf  on  the  left  arm  for  nine 
days,  as  a  token  of  regard  for  the  loss  of  our  late  illustrious 
Brother  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

"  By  order, 

"  JOHN  UANDY,  G.  Secretary. 

"  NEWPORT,  December  23,  1799." 

The  records  of  the  subordinate  lodges,  both  in  Khode 
Island  and  Connecticut,  show  that  a  general  mourning 
was  adopted  on  the  sad  event;  and  that  in  all  the 
numerous  public  processions  and  ceremonies,  the  Fra- 
ternity were  assigned  a  post  of  dignity,  in  considera- 
tion of  the  well-known  connection  WASHINGTON  had 
with  their  Society.  It  is  impossible  in  this  sketch  to 
give  even  a  synopsis  of  the  rich  treasures  such  records 
in  the  various  States  contain,  relating  to  funeral  cere- 
monies on  that  occasion.  They  are  worthy  of  a  volume. 
From  our  portfolio  of  these  rich  memorials  of  merited 
regard,  we  will  select  but  one  other.  It  is  the  mourn- 


WASHINGTON.  227 

ing  of  the  brethren  at  Fredericksburg,  where  WASH- 
INGTON had  been  made  a  Mason  nearly  fifty  years 
before.  Youthful  craftsmen  had  in  those  long  years 
taken  the  places  of  most  of  the  ancient  brethren  of 
that  lodge ;  but  there  were  some  who  still  remembered, 
how,  when  youth  and  manhood  were  mingling  their 
lines  upon  his  brow,  he  sought  their  altar  and  bound 
himself  to  them  in  vows  of  brotherhood.  These  un- 
broken vows  had  been  kept  in  their  memory.  There 
was  now  sadness  in  their  hearts  when  they  were  sum- 
moned by  their  Master  to  meet  and  commemorate  his 
loss.  It  was  the  second  Sabbath  after  his  death, 
and  amidst  the  tolling  of  bells,  which  had  commenced 
at  sunrise,  they  met  in  their  lodge-room  at  ten  o'clock. 
The  Grand  Master  of  Virginia,  Major  BENJAMIN  DAY, 
was  with  them,  and  having  taken  the  chair  in  the  East, 
he  thus  addressed  the  lodge  : 

"We  are  now,  brethren,  to  pay  the  last  tribute  of  affec- 
tion and  respect  to  the  eminent  virtues  and  exemplary  con- 
duct that  adorned  the  character  of  our  worthy  deceased 
Brother,  GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  He  was  early  initiated  in 
this  venerable  lodge,  as  I  am  respectably  informed,  in  the 
mysteries  of  our  ancient  and  honorable  profession ;  and 
having  held  it  in  the  highest  and  most  just  veneration,  the 
fraternal  attention  we  now  show  to  his  memory  is  the  more 
incumbent  on  us.  He  is  gone  forever  from  our  view  ;  but 
gone  to  the  realms  of  celestial  bliss,  where  the  shafts  of 
malice  and  detraction  cannot  penetrate,  where  all  sublunary 
distinctions  cease,  and  merit  is  rewarded  by  the  scale  of 
unerring  justice.  While  the  tear  of  sympathy  is  excited  for 
a  loss  so  generally  and  deservedly  lamented,  let  us  recol- 
lect that  posterity  will  not  less  justly  appreciate  the  talents 


228  WASHINGTON. 

aiid  virtues  he  possessed.  As  a  man,  he  was  (Vail ;  and  it 
would  be  a  compliment  to  which  human  nature  cannot  as- 
pire to  suppose  him  free  from  peculiarities,  or  exempt  from 
error.  But  let  those  that  best  know  him  determine  the 
measure  to  which  they  extend.  In  the  offices  of  private 
life,  he  was  most  endeared  to  those  who  were  most  in  his 
familiarity  and  intimacy.  In  the  various  important  ap- 
pointments of  public  confidence.  let  not  the  sin  of  in- 
gratitude sully  the  historic  page,  by  denying  him  the  in- 
cense of  public  applause.  Abler  panegyrists  will  attend  at 
the  sacred  altar,  and  do  that  justice  to  his  memory  to  which 
his  merits  entitle  him  ;  while  attendant  angels  await  his 
immortal  spirit  in  the  mansions  of  eternal  peace. 

"  Suffer  me,  brethren,  on  this  solemn  occasion,  to  remind 
you  of  the  instability  of  all  human  concerns,  and  the  un- 
certainty of  our  continuance  in  this  transitory  state  of  our 
existence.  Let  the  example  of  our  worthy  deceased  brother, 
and  the  amiable  precepts  of  our  institution,  guide  us  in  our 
conduct  to  each  other  ;  and  the  sacred  volume,  always  open 
for  our  instruction  in  our  duty  to  the  inconceivably  great, 
omnipotent,  and  merciful  Architect  of  the  Universe  !  That 
when  it  shall  please  Him  to  relieve  us  from  the  cares  and 
solicitude  of  this  probationary  state,  we  may  not  be  dis- 
mayed, but  with  a  well-grounded  hope,  familiarized  to  the 
expectation  of  a  change,  the  awful,  yet  the  inevitable  lot  of 
mortality,  and  the  entrance  into  a  lodge  of  perfect  harmony 
and  eternal  happines." 

The  lodge  then  formed  a  procession,  and  moved 
from  their  hall,  preceded  by  music  playing  a  solemn 
dirge,  to  the  public  parade-ground,  where  they  were 
received  by  the  military  with  reversed  arms,  who  es- 
corted them  to  the  church,  where  a  discourse  was 


WASHINGTON.  229 

delivered  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  STEPHENSON,  from  the  words : 
"  And  tlie  Lord  spake  unto  Joshua,  the  son  of  Nun,  Moses' 
minister,  saying,  Moses  my  servant  is  dead."  The  so- 
lemnities of  the  day  were  concluded  by  the  military 
firing  sixteen  minute-guns  as  the  brethren  returned  to 
their  lodge-room. 

The  official  inventory  of  WASHINGTON'S  estate  after 
his  death  was  duly  entered  in  the  records  of  Fairfax 
County,  and  from  it  we  are  able  to  show  that  he 
treasured  in  his  cabinet  and  in  his  library,  to  the  close 
of  his  life,  the  Masonic  souvenirs  he  had  at  various 
times  received  from  his  brethren,  thus  verifying  also 
our  records  and  traditions  of  his  reception  of  them. 
The  statements  which  we  have  given  in  the  foregoing 
sketch,  embrace  his  reception  of  Masonic  regalia  from 
Messrs.  WATSON  &  CASSOUL;  a  box  containing  a  Ma- 
sonic apron  and  sash  from  LA  FAYETTE  ;  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Ahiman  Rezon  from  tthe  Grand  Lodge  of  Penn- 
sylvania ;  the  Book  of  Constitutions  of  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  Massachusetts,  from  that  Grand  Lodge ;  "  Proofs  of 
a  Conspiracy,"  from  the  Eev.  Mr.  SNYDER;  and  an 
Ahiman  Rezon,  or  Book  of  Constitutions,  from  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Maryland.  All  of  the  above  books 
we  find  inventoried  by  the  appraisers  of  his  personal 
estate,  as  follows  :  The  Pennsylvania  Ahiman  Eezon, 
one  dollar  ;  the  Massachusetts  Grand  Lodge  Constitu- 
tion, one  dollar  ;  "  Proofs  of  a  Conspiracy,"  one  dollar 
and  fifty  cents ;  Maryland  Ahiman  Eezon,  one  dollar 
and  fifty  cents.  We  also  find  in  the  same  inventory, 
a  volume  of  Masonic  Sermons,  fifty  cents.  The  same 
list  also  contains  a  "  Japan  box  containing  a  Mason's 
apron,"  inventoried  at  fifty  dollars  ;  and  a  "  Piece  of 


230  WASHINGTON. 

oil-cloth  containing  Orders  of  Masonry,"  fifty  dollars. 
The  first  of  these  was  probably  the  box  and  apron  sent 
by  LA  FAYETTE, — the  term  Japan  referring  to  the  fine 
exterior  polish  of  the  box.  The  last  was  doubtless 
what  is  called  the  Masoris  carpet  or  floor-dotli.  We  have 
never  met  with  any  other  mention  of  this  last  Masonic 
relic  of  WASHINGTON'S,  except  in  this  official  inventory, 
and  are  at  loss  to  know  when  it  came  into  his  posses- 
sion, and  what  finally  became  of  it.  So  interesting  and 
valuable  a  relic  of  WASHINGTON  should  not  be  lost ;  and 
we  here  request  that  if  its  history  or  existence  be 
known,  it  be  communicated  to  the  Fraternity  of  which 
our  illustrious  brother  was  the  pride  and  ornament. 

Reader,  we  have  sketched  for  you  WASHINGTON  as  a 
MASON.    Learn  from  it,  that — 

"  Ere  mature  manhood  marked  his  youthful  brow, 
He  sought  our  altar  and  he  made  his  vow — 
Upon  our  tesselated  floor  he  trod, 
Bended  his  knees,  and  placed  his  trust  in  GOD  1 
Through  all  his  great  and  glorious  life  he  stood 
A  true,  warm  brother,  foremost  e'er  in  good ; 
And  when  he  died,  amid  a  nation's  gloom, 
His  mourning  brethren  bore  him  to  the  tomb !  ' 


PART  II. 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS, 


MAJOR  HENBY  PRICE. 

FIRST    GRAND    MASTER    IN    NEW    ENGLAND. 

THE  introduction  of  Freemasonry  into  America  has 
neither  written  nor  traditionary  date.  From  a  period 
extending  so  far  back  into  the  gray  ages  of  antiquity 
that  it  antedates  the  twilight  of  written  history,  its 


234         WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 

mystic  rites  are  said  to  have  been  practised  in  the 
eastern  world;  and  when  the  first  explorers  of  the 
western  continent  formed  their  infant  settlements  here, 
they  may  have  brought  with  them  some  knowledge  of 
its  mysteries. 

For  more  than  a  century  after  the  English  com- 
menced their  settlements  in  America,  Masonic  lodges 
were  held  in  all  countries  without  any  written  war- 
rants, but  by  the  inherent  right  of  Masons,  sanctioned 
by  immemorial  usage.  Such  lodges  kept  no  written 
records  of  their  proceedings,  and  American  history  is 
silent  on  the  subject  of  Freemasonry  until  about  the 
commencement  of  the  third  decade  of  the  last  century. 
At  that  time  the  Masonic  chronicles  of  England  state, 
that  a  deputation  was  granted  to  DANIEL  COXE,  con- 
stituting him  Provincial  Grand  Master  of  New  Jersey. 
A  copy  of  this  deputation,  recently  obtained  by  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  New  Jersey  from  the  Grand  Lodge  at 
London,  shows,  that  it  constituted  DANIEL  COXE,  Pro- 
vincial Grand  Master  of  the  provinces  of  New  York, 
New  Jersey,  and  Pennsylvania.  This  deputation  was 
granted  by  the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  Grand  Master  of  Ma- 
sons in  England,  and  bore  date  the  5th  day  of  June, 
1730.  From  the  same  source  we  also  learn,  that  DANIEL 
COXE  was  present  at  the  meeting  of  the  Grand  Lodge 
in  London  on  the  29th  of  the  following  January,  where 
his  health  was  proposed  and  drank  as  "Provincial 
Grand  Master  of  North  America"  Of  his  personal 
history,  we  only  know  that  he  was  the  son  of  Dr. 
DANIEL  COXE,  of  England,  who  was  physician  to  the 
queen  of  Charles  the  Second,  and  to  Queen  ANNE,  and 
who  held  extensive  proprietary  claims  to  lands  in  New 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEEKS.          235 

Jersey  and  other  American  colonies ;  and  that  he  was 
his  father's  agent  and  representative  in  this  country. 
His  residence  is  believed  to  have  been  in  Burling- 
ton, New  Jersey.  He  was  for  many  years  a  member 
of  the  council  of  that  province  under  Lord  CORNBURY, 
and  the  speaker  of  the  House  of  Assembly  during  a 
part  of  the  administration  of  Governor  HUNTER.  He 
w£s  also,  it  is  historically  stated,  for  a  time,  deputy 
governor  of  Western  New  Jersey.  He  represented  his 
father's  claims  to  an  extensive  tract  of  country  lying 
on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  which  he  made  some  attempts 
to  colonize.  In  furtherance  of  this  object,  he  wrote  a 
dissertation  on  this  territory,  entitled,  "  A  Description 
of  the  English  Province  of  Carolana,  by  the  Spaniards 
called  Florida,  and  by  the  French,  La  Louisaine"  This, 
we  believe,  was  first  published  in  England  in  1741,  al- 
though some  authorities  state  it  was  published  in  1722. 
Two  existing  proprietary  claims  to  this  territory  were 
possessed  by  his  father,  the  first  of  Spanish,  and  the 
second  of  English  origin.  It  was  Mr.  COXE'S  desire  to 
hold  and  settle  it  as  an  English  province ;  and  he  ac- 
cordingly, in  the  preface  to  his  pamphlet,  proposed  a 
colonial  alliance  of  all  the  English  settlements  as  a 
defence  against  the  Indians,  and  also  the  French  and 
Spanish  colonies  in  the  vicinity.  The  terms  of  this 
proposition  for  an  English  colonial  union  in  America, 
we  believe,  antedate  any  such  ideas  by  others ;  and  we 
cannot  forbear  to  insert  them  here  as  curious  in  the 
civil  history  of  our  country,  being  published  prior  to 
the  Union  recommended  by  Dr.  FRANKLIN  at  the  Colo- 
nial Congress  in  Albany  in  1754.  Mr.  COXE'S  propo- 
sition was — 


236          WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 

"  That  all  the  colonies  appertaining  to  the  crown  of  Great 
Britain,  on  the  northern  continent  of  America,  be  united 
under  a  legal,  regular,  and  firm  establishment  ;  over  which 
a  lieutenant  or  supreme  governor  may  be  constituted  and 
appointed  to  preside  on  the  spot,  to  whom  the  governors  of 
each  colony  shall  be  subordinate."  "  It  is  further  humbly 
proposed,"  he  continued,  "  that  two  deputies  shall  be  annually 
elected  by  the  Council  and  Assembly  of  each  province,  who 
are  to  be  in  the  nature  of  a  great  council,  or  general  con- 
vention of  the  estates  of  the  colonies  ;  and  by  the  order, 
consent,  or  approbation  of  the  lieutenant  or  governor- 
general,  shall  meet  together,  consult  and  advise  for  the 
good  of  the  whole,  settle  and  appoint  particular  quotas  or 
proportions  of  money,  men,  provisions,  etc.,  that  each  re- 
spective government  is  to  raise  for  their  mutual  defence 
and  safety,  as  well  as,  if  necessary,  for  offence  and  invasion 
of  their  enemies  ;  in  all  which  cases  the  governor-general 
or  lieutenant  is  to  have  a  negative,  but  not  to  enact  any 
thing  without  their  concurrence,  or  that  of  a  majority  of 
them." 

May  not  this  proposition  of  our  Masonic  brother  and 
first  American  Grand  Master,  have  been  the  germ  of 
thought  from  which  sprung  our  present  form  of  civil 
government  ?  Mr.  COXE,  we  believe,  died  at  Burling- 
ton, New  Jersey,  and  was  there  buried  ;  for  there  is 
Baid  to  exist  in  the  east  transept  of  the  old  Episcopal 
Church  there,  a  marble  slab  bearing  this  inscription  : 

"DANIEL  COXE, 

DIED,    APEIL    25,    1739. 


65." 

To  this  digression  from  the  Masonic  design  of  our 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS.          237 

sketch,  we  will  only  add,  that  so  little  has  been  left  on 
record  of  the  Masonic  history  of  DANIEL  COXE,  that 
even  his  Grand  Mastership  has  been  deemed  a  myth. 
His  name  stands  in  the  annals  of  American  Masonry, 
like  the  morning-star  at  dawn  rising  above  the  moun- 
tain's misty  top,  and  then  fading  from  our  vision  in  the 
sunlight  of  the  bright  skies  that  followed. 

In  1733,  three  years  later,  the  written  records  of 
Freemasonry  in  America  commence.  Upon  the  30th 
of  April  of  that  year,  a  deputation  was  granted  by 
Lord  MONTACUTE,  Grand  Master  of  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  England,  to  HENRY  PEICE,  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
"  in  behalf  of  himself  and  several  other  brethren"  then 
residing  in  New  England,  appointing  him  "  Provincial 
Grand  Master  of  New  England  aforesaid,  and  domin- 
ions and  territories  thereunto  belonging."  From  the 
powers  contained  in  this  deputation  sprang  the  first 
existing  lodges  in  this  country,  and  HENRY  PBICE  is 
regarded  as  the  father  of  American  lodges  of  Free- 
masons. 

The  deputations  or  commissions  to  DANIEL  COXE  in 
1730,  and  HENRY  PRICE  in  1733,  were  in  form  and  ver- 
biage nearly  the  same  ;  but  they  differed  somewhat  in 
powers  conferred.  That  to  Mr.  COXE  confined  his 
powers  to  the  provinces  of  New  York,  New  Jersey, 
and  Pennsylvania ;  while  that  to  Mr«  PRICE,  gave  him 
Masonic  authority  in  New  England,  and  "dominions 
and  territories  thereunto  belonging."  That  to  Mr.  COXE 
also  continued  his  powers  for  two  years  from  the  fol- 
lowing feast  of  St.  John  the  Baptist;  "after  which 
time,"  it  continues,  "it  is  our  will  and  pleasure,  and 
we  do  hereby  ordain,  that  the  brethren  who  do  now 


238          WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 

reside,  or  who  may  hereafter  reside,  in  all  01  any  oi 
the  said  provinces,  shall,  and  they  are  hereby  em- 
powered every  other  year,  on  the  feast  of  St.  John  the 
Baptist,  to  elect  a  Provincial  Grand  Master,  who  shall 
have  the  power  of  nominating  and  appointing  his 
Deputy  Grand  Master  and  Grand  Wardens."  That  of 
Mr.  PRICE  was  unlimited  in  time,  and  revokable  at  the 
pleasure  of  the  authority  that  issued  it.  We  have  no 
Masonic  lodge  records  in  this  country  previous  to  1733 ; 
but  it  is  a  curious  fact,  that  newspapers  printed  in 
Philadelphia  as  early  as  1732,  state  the  existence  of  a 
Masonic  lodge  in  that  city  at  that  date,  and  that  WIL- 
LIAM ALLEN,  then  recorder  of  the  city  (and  afterwards 
chief-justice  of  the  province),  was,  on  St.  John  the  Bap- 
tist's day  of  1732,  elected  Grand  Master  in  Philadelphia. 
Were  the  brethren  in  that  city  at  that  time  holding 
lodges  under  authority  from  DANIEL  COXE,  or  by  the 
old  immemorial  right  and  usage  of  Masons  ?  It  is  an 
interesting  point  in  our  Masonic  history,  but  one 
which  we  are  not  called  upon  to  consider  further  in 
this  sketch.  Our  task  is  to  give  a  brief  memoir  of  the 
Masonic  history  of  HENRY  PRICE,  and  even  this  would 
embrace  more  of  the  history  of  the  early  progress  of 
Masonry  in  this  country  than  our  limits  admit. 

History  has  recorded  but  little  of  his  life,  except 
what  is  found  on  its  Masonic  pages.  He  was  a  native 
of  England,  and  was  born  in  London  about  the  year 
1697.  He  came  to  America  about  1723,  and  settled 
in  Boston,  where  he  commenced  business  as  a  mer- 
chant tailor.  He  was  then  about  twenty-six  years  oi 
age,  and  had  doubtless  been  made  a  Mason  in  London, 
in  one  of  the  four  old  lodges  of  that  city.  It  was 


239 

about  ten  years,  therefore,  from  the  time  he  came  to 
America,  before  he  received  the  deputation  granted 
him  by  Lord  MONTACUTE  to  assemble  the  brethren  of 
the  Masonic  Fraternity  and  constitute  lodges  in  New 
England. 

At  that  time,  nearly  three  months  were  required 
to  transmit  documents  from  London  to  Boston,  and 
the  promptness  with  which  he  entered  on  his  new 
duties  is  seen  from  the  record,  that  on  the  30th  of 
July,  1733,  just  three  months  from  the  date  of  his  com- 
mission, he  assembled  the  brethren  then  residing  in 
Boston,  at  the  "  Bunch  of  Grapes  Tavern,"  and  caus- 
ing his  deputation  to  be  read,  he  appointed  ANDREW 
BELCHER  his  Deputy  Grand  Master,  and  THOMAS 
KENNELLY  and  JOHN  QUANN  his  Grand  Wardens.  We 
have  few  written  records  from  which  to  give  the 
social  position  of  the  members  of  this  Grand  Lodge. 
Mr.  PRICE,  its  Grand  Master,  was  the  same  year  ap- 
pointed "cornet  in  the  governor's  troop  of  guards, 
with  the  rank  of  major."  He  was  also  at  one  time  pay- 
master in  Queen  ANNE'S  regiment.  JONATHAN  BELCHER 
was  the  governor  of  Massachusetts,  and  ANDREW  BEL- 
CHER, the  Deputy  Grand  Master,  was  his  son. 

The  same  day  that  Mr.  PRICE  organized  his  Grand 
Lodge,  he  received  a  petition  from  eighteen  Masons  in 
Boston,  in  behalf  of  themselves  and  " other  brethren" 
asking  to  be  established  as  a  regular  lodge.  They  had 
probably  often  convened  and  worked  as  Masons  in  that 
city  before,  without  any  authority  except  the  ancient 
immemorial  right  which  the  Craft  had  formerly  exer- 
cised, of  meeting  when  and  where  circumstances  per- 
p^tted  or  required,  and  choosing  the  most  experienced 


240          WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 

one  present  as  Master,  form  for  the  occasion  a  lodge. 
In  such  assemblages  of  the  Craft,  temporarily  con- 
vened, with  little  ritualistic  labor,  but  with  simple 
forms,  it  is  probable  most  of  the  old  Masons  in 
America  had  been  admitted  to  the  knowledge  of  our 
mystic  rites.  But  having  now  an  opportunity  to  con- 
form to  the  newly  established  custom  in  England  of 
working  under  the  sanction  of  a  Grand  Lodge,  com- 
posed of  a  Grand  Master  and  other  officers,  and  rep- 
resentatives of  all  the  brethren  in  the  jurisdiction, 
they  seem  at  once  to  have  availed  themselves  of  the 
privilege.  Their  petition  was  accordingly  granted, 
and  they  were  formed  and  constituted  by  Mr.  PRICE  a 
regular  lodge  the  same  evening,  their  officers  being 
installed  by  him  in  person.  This  lodge  was  denomi- 
nated "First  Lodge"  in  Boston  until  1783,  when  it 
took  the  name  of  St.  John's  Lodge,  by  which  it  has 
since  been  known.  As  it  was  constituted  by  Grand 
Master  PRICE  in  person,  it  was  not  at  that;  day  thought 
necessary  that  it  should  have  a  written  warrant,  his 
own  act  of  personally  constituting  it,  being  at  that  time 
a  sufficient  authority  for  perpetuating  itself  as  a  legal 
lodge. 

Early  in  the  following  year,  Major  PRICE  granted 
warrants  to  brethren  in  Philadelphia  and  in  Ports- 
mouth, New  Hampshire,  to  hold  lodges  in  those  places, 
and  for  this  purpose  written  instruments  of  authority 
were  first  used  by  him  in  America.  He  also  received 
an  extension  of  his  authority  in  1734  from  the  Grand 
Master  of  England,  giving  him  jurisdiction  over  all 
North  America.  Under  it  he  granted  a  warrant,  on 
the  27th  of  December,  1735,  for  a  lodge  at  Charleston, 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEEES.          241 

South  Carolina.  It  is  probable  that  some,  if  not  all 
these  warrants,  were  to  confirm  and  bring  under  regular 
Masonic  government,  bodies  of  Masons  that  had  pre- 
viously met  and  worked  as  lodges  in  their  several 
localities. 

Major  PEICE  was  superseded  as  Provincial  Grand 
Master,  in  1737,  by  a  like  commission  granted  by  the 
Grand  Master  of  England  to  EGBERT  TOMLINSON.  Mr. 
TOMLINSON  held  the  office  for  seven  years,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  THOMAS  OXNAED,  who  helcl  it  about  ten  years, 
and  died  with  his  commission  unrevoked.  Upon  the 
death  of  Mr.  OXNAED,  Major  PEICE,  as  the  oldest  Pro- 
vincial Past  Grand  Master  in  America,  was  called  to  the 
vacant  Grand  East  until  a  new  appointment  could  be 
made  by  the  Grand  Master  of  England.  He  therefore 
held  the  office  at  this  time,  by  virtue  of  his  priority  in 
that  position,  from  the  26th  of  June,  1754,  until  Octo- 
ber 1,  1755,  when  JEEEMY  GEIDLEY  was  duly  com- 
missioned and  installed.  Mr.  GEIDLEY  continued  as 
Provincial  Grand  Master  until  his  death  in  September, 
1767,  when  Major  PEICE  again  resumed  the  office  until 
the  25th  of  November,  1768,  when  JOHN  KOWE  was 
regularly  appointed  to  it  by  the  Grand  Master  of 
England. 

Such  is  a  brief  sketch  of  the  connection  Major  PEICE 
had  with  American  Masonry  as  Provincial  Grand 
Master.  But  his  Masonic  labors  were  not  confined  to 
his  duties  in  his  Grand  Lodge.  By  an  early  regula- 
tion of  the  mother  Grand  Lodge  in  England,  Appren- 
tices could  be  made  Fellow-crafts  and  Master  Masons 
only  in  the  Grand  Lodge,  unless  by  special  dispensa- 
tion from  the  Grand  Master.  This  rule  was  soon 

11 


242          WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 

afterwards  relaxed,  and  "Master's  Lodges"  were  in- 
stituted to  confer  the  second  and  third  degrees  on 
candidates  who  had  received  the  first  in  regular  lodges 
of  the  Craft. 

About  the  year  1738  a  "  Master's  Lodge"  was  in- 
stituted in  Boston,  which  met  monthly.  Major  PRICE 
was  its  first  Master,  and  he  occupied  this  position  and 
performed  its  labors  until  1744,  when  he  resigned  the 
office.  During  this  period  the  record  shows  that  he 
was  absent  but  one  evening ;  and  after  he  resigned  the 
chair,  he  was  generally  present  at  the  meetings  of  the 
lodge,  and  frequently  officiated  as  master  pro  tern., 
until  1749,  when  he  again  held  it  one  term  by  election. 
He  frequently  performed  the  duties  of  the  minor  offices 
of  the  lodge,  and  was  ever  an  active  member.  He  was 
also  a  member  of  the  "  First  Lodge,"  and  gave  it  his 
active  support. 

Major  PRICE  had  been  successful  in  his  mercantile 
business  in  Boston,  and  was  able  to  support  a  country- 
seat  a  few  miles  from  the  city.  The  records  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Massachusetts  show,  that  in  April 
1751,  that  Grand  Body  resolved  to  celebrate  the  com- 
ing St.  John's  Day  at  "Brother  PRICE'S  house"  in 
Menotomy  (West  Cambridge) ;  but  when  the  day  ar- 
rived, the  record  further  shows,  that  his  house  "  being 
encumbered  by  sickness,"  the  celebration  was  held  at 
the  house  of  another  brother  in  Cambridge.  Soon 
after  this  he  lost  his  wife,  and  also  a  daughter  of  about 
the  age  of  nineteen  years;  and  on  the  20th  of  April, 
1766,  he  lost  his  only  surviving  child,  a  son,  who  was 
apprenticed  to  an  apothecary.  This  son  died  sud- 
denly in  a  fit.  The  stricken  father  was  now  childless 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS.          243 

and  lonely,  and  he  wrote  to  his  friends  in  London,  in 
1771,  that  as  soon  as  his  affairs  in  Boston  could  be  in- 
trusted to  a  suitable  person,  he  contemplated  return- 
ing to  England.  He  was  then  nearly  seventy-five  years 
old ;  yet  he  again  married,  and  in  1774  he  relinquished 
his  business  in  Boston,  and  retired  to  a  farm  in  Towns- 
end,  a  few  miles  from  -the  city,  which  town  he  after- 
wards represented  in  the  General  Court.  The  second 
wife  of  Major  PRICE  was  a  widow,  LYDIA  ABBOT,  of 
Townsend,  who  had  at  the  time  of  this  marriage  two 
daughters  by  her  former  husband,  and  she  afterwards 
had  two  daughters  more  by  Major  PRICE.  He  con- 
tinued his  residence  in  Townsend  until  his  death  at 
about  the  age  of  eighty-three  years,  which  occurred  on 
the  20th  of  May,  1780.  He  was  buried  in  the  public 
burial-ground  of  that  town,  where  his  tombstone  still 
stands,  bearing  this  inscription  : 

"IN  MEMORY  OF  HENRY  PRICE,  ESQ., 

"Was  born  in  London  about  the  year  of  our  LORD  1697. 
He  removed  to  Boston  about  the  year  1723  ;  received  a 
deputation  appointing  him  Grand  Master  of  Masons  in  New 
England  ;  and  in  the  year  1733  was  appointed  a  Cornet  in 
the  Governor's  Troop  of  Guards,  with  the  rank  of  Major 
By  his  diligence  and  industry  in  business,  he  acquired  the 
means  of  a  comfortable  living,  with  which  he  removed  to 
Townsend  in  the  latter  part  of  his  life.  He  quitted  mor- 
tality the  20th  of  May,  A.  D.  1780,  leaving  a  widow  and  two 
young  daughters,  with  a  numerous  company  of  friends  and 
acquaintances  to  mourn  his  departure,  who  have  that 
ground  of  hope  concerning  his  present  lot,  which  results 
from  his  undissembled  regard  to  his  Maker,  and  extensive 


244:  WASHINGTON'S   MASONIC   COMPEERS. 

benevolence  to  his  fellow-creatures,  manifested  in  life  by  a 
behavior  consistent  with  his  character  as  a  MASON,  and  his 
nature  as  a  Man." 

Major  PRICE  provided  by  his  will  equally  for  his  two 
step-daughters  as  for  his  own,  giving  to  the  four  all 
his  property  after  having  made  suitable  provision  for 
his  widow.  His  descendants  still  live  in  Massachusetts ; 
and  one  of  them,  a  few  years  ago,  presented  to  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  that  State  an  original  portrait  of  their 
first  Grand  Master,  taken  in  middle  life.  It  is  a  valua- 
ble memento  of  one  who  is  justly  regarded  as  the 
Father  of  Freemasonry  in  America. 


SIR  WILLIAM  JOHNSON, 

THE     ENGLISH     SUPERINTENDENT    OF    INDIANS    IN    NEW   YORK  J     AND 
FIRST   MASTER  OF  ST.  PATRICKS   LODGE    ON   THE   MOHAWK. 

FKEEMASONKY  has  its  traditions  and  historic  allusions 
to  lodges  in  New  York,  which  are  older  than  any  of  its 
authentic  records  in  that  colony.  Like  footprints  on 
the  shores  of  time,  they  seem  to  point  to  unrecorded 
dynasties  of  craftsmen,  whose  labors,  like  those  of  the 


246          WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 

pioneer  in  some  primeval  forest,  who  erects  tho 
first  rude  habitation  in  the  place  where  busy  cities 
afterwards  arise,  are  all  obliterated  and  forgotten. 
These  traditions  seem  to  point  to  the  Palatines  on  the 
Hudson  as  the  first  mystic  temple  builders  of  New 
York.  The  Masonic  annals  of  England  then  give  us 
the  names  of  DANIEL  COXE,  in  1730;  KICHARD  EiGGS,in 
1737  ;  FRANCIS  GOELET,  in  1751,  as  each  having  au- 
thority to  congregate  the  brethren  and  establish  Ma- 
sonic lodges  in  the  province  of  New  York.  There  is 
no  recorded  certainty  that  either  of  these,  except 
Mr.  GOELET,  acted  on  their  commissions,  and  the  only 
record  of  his  proceedings  in  his  Provincial  Grand-mas- 
tership that  we  have  met  with,  is  a  newspaper  account  of 
that  day,  which  states  that  on  St.  John  the  Evangelist's 
day,  in  1753,  when  his  successor,  GEORGE  HARRISON,  was 
installed  in  the  city  of  New  York,  a  Grand  Lodge,  which 
had  previously  existed  in  the  province,  was  convened 
on  the  occasion.  GEORGE  HARRISON  presided  as  Pro- 
vincial Grand  Master  for  eighteen  years,  and  during 
that  time  he  established  lodges  in  -the  city  of  New 
York,  and  others  in  towns  upon  the  Hudson,  where  the 
population  was  numerous,  and  one  in  an  infant  settle- 
ment on  the  Mohawk.  He  also  granted  warrants  in 
Connecticut,  New  Jersey,  and  at  Detroit. 

The  lodge  which  he  chartered  upon  the  Mohawk, 
was  located  at  Caughnawaga.  the  residence  of  Sir 
WILLIAM  JOHNSON,  who  was  its  first  Master.  It  was 
called  St.  Patrick's  Lodge,  and  its  charter  bore  date 
May  23d,  1766.  Caughnawaga  was  an  English  and 
German  settlement  on  the  extreme  western  verge  of 
civilization,  and  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Six  Nations  of 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS.          247 

Indians,  of  whom  Sir  WILLIAM  was  the  English  super- 
intendent. Sir  WILLIAM  JOHNSON  was  a  native  of  Ire- 
land, and  born  in  1714.  He  inherited  no  title  of 
nobility  by  birth,  but  was  a  nephew  upon  his  mother's 
side  of  Sir  PETER  WARREN,  the  naval  commander  who 
distinguished  himself  at  the  siege  of  Louisburg  in  1745. 
Sir  PETER  had  previously  married  -a  sister  of  Chief- 
Justice  DE  LANCY  of  New  York,  and  had  further  identi- 
fied himself  with  American  interests  by  the  purchase 
of  a  large  tract  of  wilderness  country  upon  the  Mo- 
hawk Eiver ;  and  he  sent  for  his  nephew,  who  is  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  to  come  to  America  and  take 
charge  of  his  landed  estate.  Young  JOHNSON  had  just 
been  disappointed  in  a  love  affair  in  Ireland,  and 
listened  willingly  to  his  proposal. 

He  was  then  about  twenty  years  of  age,  and  he  came 
to  America  and  settled  on  his  uncle's  lands  at  Caughna- 
waga  on  the  Mohawk  about  the  year  1735,  two  years 
after  the  first  lodge  was  established  in  Boston.  The 
Mohawk  country  was  at  that  time  but  sparsely  settled 
by  white  men,  and  for  many  years  his  principal  neigh- 
bors and  associates  were  the  native  Indians  of  the  Six 
Nations,  known  in  history  as  the  confederacy  of  the 
Iroquois.  He  learned  their  language,  and  often  joined 
with  them  in  hunting,  fishing,  and  other  recreations ; 
and  by  his  adroitness  obtained  an  almost  unbounded 
influence  over  them.  He  was  adopted  by  them  ac- 
cording to  their  customs,  and  given  by  them  an  Indian 
name — Warraghiiyagey.  For  their  amusement,  it  is 
said,  he  introduced  among  them  many  novel  diversions, 
among  which  were  foot-races,  in  which  the  competitors 
had  meal-bags  drawn  over  their  legs  and  tied  under 


248          WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 

their  arms ;  turning  a  hog  loose  with  his  tail  greased, 
and  giving  it  as  a  prize  to  the  one  who  would  catch 
and  hold  it  by  that  extremity ;  a  half-pound  of  tea  to 
the  one  who  would  make  the  ugliest  face ;  and  a 
bladder  of  snuff  to  the  old  woman  who  could  scold  the 
hardest.  These  were  hilarities  for  the  multitude.  For 
the  chiefs  in  council  he  had  a  demeanor  silent,  thought- 
ful, and  grave  as  a  sachem ;  and  when  he  joined  them 
in  their  mystic  religious  rites,' no  Indian  devotee  was 
more  expert  and  devoted.  He  was  skilled  in  their 
diplomacy,  in  their  traditionary  legends,  and  in  their 
religious  ceremonies.  The  English  government  had 
appointed  him  its  superintendent  of  Indian  affairs  in 
the  colony  of  New  York,  an  office  which  he  held  until 
his  death.  His  official  position,  his  locality,  and  his 
intimacy  with  the  various  tribes  around  him,  gave 
great  advantages  for  trafficking  in  the  productions  of 
the  forest,  and  he  made  large  gains  by  exchanging 
European  goods  for  the  rich  furs  of  the  Indian  hunters. 

Many  amusing  anecdotes  have  come  down  to  us  of 
the  artful  manner  in  which  Sir  WTLT.TAM  managed  to 
increase  his  own  wealth  at  the  expense  of  his  Irdiun 
neighbors,  and  at  the  same  time  preserve  their  kind 
feelings.  On  one  occasion  HENDRICK,  the  chief  of  tho 
Mohawks,  was  charmed  with  the  sight  of  a  fine  gold- 
laced  coat  which  JOHNSON  had  just  procured  for  him- 
self from  England.  The  cupidity  of  the  chief  was  ex- 
cited, and  he  went  to  its  owner  the  next  day  saying, 
lie  had  dreamed. 

"Well,  what  did  you  dream?"  said  JOHNSON. 

"  I  dreamed,"  said  the  chief,  "  that  you  gave  me  the 
fine  coat." 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEEES.          249 

The  hint  was  too  strong  to  be  mistaken  or  un- 
heeded, and  the  proud  chief  went  away  wearing  the 
coat,  and  well  pleased  with  his  pretended  dream.  Soon 
afterwards  meeting  the  chief,  JOHNSON  said  to  him,  he, 
also  had  dreamed. 

11  Well,  what  what  did  you  dream  ?"  said  HENDKICK. 

"I  dreamed  that  you  gave  me  a. tract  of  land,"  said 
JOHNSON,  describing  it. 

The  chief  paused  a  moment  at  the  enormity  of  the 
amount;  but  soon  said,  "You  may  have  the  land,  but 
me  no  dream  again  ;  you  dream  too  hard  for  me." 

The  tract  of  land  thus  obtained  is  said  to  have  been 
about  twelve  miles  square,  and  the  title  was  subse- 
quently confirmed  to  him  by  the  king  of  England,  and 
was  called  the  Royal  Grant. 

But  the  young  Irish  cavalier  did  not  seem  at  all 
times  content  with  the  rich  furs  and  lands  of  his  Indian 
neighbors,  for  traditions  also  affirm,  that  he  often 
gained  the  favor  of  the  dark-eyed  daughters  of  the 
forest,  and  that  his  intercourse  with  them  was  such  as 
would  be  construed  by  the  code  of  civilization,  at  least, 
a  lapse  of  morality.  Sir  WILLIAM  was  yet  far  from  be- 
ing indifferent  to  the  social  and  religious  improvement 
of  the  tribes  under  his  care.  He  encouraged  the  labors 
of  teachers  and  missionaries  among  them ;  and  while,  in 
his  own  views,  he  was  a  high  churchman,  his  patronage 
was  often  extended  to  an  opposing  New  England  asso- 
ciation that  was  laboring  to  evangelize,  or  gospelize,  as 
they  termed  it,  the  American  Indians.  His  position 
and  sentiments  were  often  made  matters  of  comment  in 
the  correspondence  of  the  New  England  Society,  an 
extract  from  which,  in  a  letter  from  Colonel  BABCOCK  tc 


250          WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 

the  Kev.  Dr.  COOPER,  we  cannot  refrain  from  giving  in 
this  sketch : 

"Why,"  says  he,  "may  not  Sir  WILLIAM  be  the  means  of 
introducing  learning  and  religion  amongst  the  Indians  and 
civilize  them,  as  well  as  PETER  the  Great  did  the  Musco- 
vites ?  And  though  Sir  WILLIAM,  like  SOLOMON,  has  been 
eminent  for  his  pleasures  with  the  brown  ladies,  yet  he 
may  lay  the  foundation  for  a  building  in  the  Mohawk 
country  that  may  be  of  more  real  use  than  the  very 
gplended  temple  that  SOLOMON  built ;  and  I  dare  say  that 
the  queens  of  the  Senecas,  Oneidas,  Onondagas,  Cayugas, 
Tuscaroras,  and  Mohawks  may  join  in  their  observations 
with  the  queen  of  Sheba,  and  say  with  the  same  truth,  that 
not  one-half  was  told  them." 

Sir  WILLIAM  was  twice  married.  His  first  wife  was 
a  young  German  girl  who  had  been  sold  on  her  arrival 
in  America  for  her  passage-money  as  a  redemptioner, 
to  a  Mr  PHILLIPS  in  the  Mohawk  Valley.  She  was  so 
beautiful  as  to  attract  the  attention  of  Sir  WILLIAM, 
and  on  a  friend's  advising  him  to  get  the  pretty 
German  girl  for  a  housekeeper,  he  determined  to  do 
so.  His  friend  soon  after  missed  the  girl  at  the  house 
of  PHILLIPS,  and  asked  him  what  had  become  of  her. 
He  replied,  "  JOHNSON,  that  tamned  Irishman,  came 
t'other  day  and  offered  me  five  pounds  for  her,  threat- 
ening to  horsewhip  me  and  steal  her  if  I  would  not 
sell  her.  I  thought  five  pounds  petter  than  a  flogging, 
so  I  took  it,  and  he's  got  the  gal."  She  was  the 
mother  of  his  son,  Sir  JOHN  JOHNSON,  and  two  daugh- 
ters who  afterwards  became  the  wives  of  GUY  JOHNSON 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEEFS.          251 

and  Colonel  GLAUS  ;  and  Sir  WILLIAM  subsequently 
married  her  to  legitimatize  her  children. 

There  is  also  a  spice  of  romance  connected  with  his 
second  wife,  who  was  a  sister  of  BRANT,  an  Indian 
protegee  of  Sir  WILLIAM.  She  was  a  Mohawk  girl  of 
rare  beauty  and  sprightliness,  and  being  present  one 
day  at  a  military  review,  she  playfully  asked  an  officer 
who  was  riding  on  parade  to  allow  her  to  ride  upon 
his  horse  with  him.  He  gave  his  assent,  without  think- 
ing she  would  have  the  courage  to  attempt  it ;  but  she 
sprang  with  the  swiftness  of  a  gazelle  upon  the  horse 
behind  him,  and,  with  her  dark  hair  streaming  in  the 
wind,  and  her  arm  around  his  waist,  rode  about  the 
parade-ground  to  the  amusement  and  admiration  of  all 
present,  except  the  young  officer  who  became  so  un- 
expectedly the  gallant  of  the  forest  fairy.  Sir  WIL- 
LIAM, who  witnessed  the  spectacle,  became  enamored 
with  the  wild  beauty  before  him,  and  soon  after  took 
her  to  his  house  as  his  wife  in  a  manner  consistent 
with  Indian  customs.  He  treated  her  with  kindness 
and  affection,  and  she  -is  said  to  have  made  him  a  de- 
voted and  faithful  wife,  and  to  have  borne  him  several 
children,  which  he  legitimatized  by  marrying  her  with 
the  ceremonies  of  the  Episcopal  Church  a  short  time 
before  his  death.  Many  of  the  descendants  of  Sir 
WILLIAM  and  MOLLY  BRANT,  it  is  said,  are  still  living  in 
respectability  in  Canada. 

During  the  times  embraced  in  these  digressive  nar- 
rations of  his  domestic  life,  he  was  constantly  employed 
in  active  public  service,  either  in  superintending  In- 
dian affairs,  or  in  military  command.  In  1755,  during 
the  war  between  France  and  England,  he  was  invested 


252          WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 

with  the  command  of  provincial  troops,  and  for  a  for- 
tunate victory  over  the  French  forces,  was  rewarded 
by  the  English  government  with  a  commission  as 
major-general,  and  by  the  king  with  a  baronetcy. 
His  military  talent,  however,  is  not  believed  to  have 
been  of  a  high  order. 

We  know  nothing  of  the  Masonic  history  of  Sir 
WILLIAM  JOHNSON  until  1766,  when  he  obtained  the 
warrant  from  GEORGE  HARRISON  %to  establish  St.  Pat- 
rick's Lodge.  He  organized  it  on  the  23d  of  August 
of  that  year  at  Johnson's  Hall  (now  Johnstown),  his 
residence  on  the  Mohawk,  and  GUY  JOHNSON  and 
DANIEL  GLAUS  became  its  Wardens.  The  whole  num- 
ber of  the  original  members  of  the  lodge  was  fifteen, 
many  of  whom,  and  perhaps  all,  were  made  Masons  in 
Albany,  where  a  lodge  had  been  organized  the  year 
before.  Sir  WILLIAM  presented  his  lodge  with  a  set  of 
Masonic  silver  jewels,  which  he  obtained  for  that  pur- 
pose from  England. 

St.  Patrick's  Lodge  was  the  first  to  erect  a  Masonic 
altar  in  the  wilderness  of  New  York  west  of  the  Hud- 
son, although  it  had  been  preceded  by  military  travel- 
ling lodges  during  the  French  and  Indian  war.  It 
soon  enrolled  in  its  membership  many  names  in  the 
Mohawk  Valley  which  are  to  be  found  in  the  history  of 
our  country,  and  it  still  maintains  an  honored  and 
useful  existence.  Sir  WILLIAM  continued  to  preside 
over  it  as  Master  until  the  6th  day  of  December,  1770, 
when  the  records  show,  that  having  previously  in- 
formed his  lodge  that  his  duty  as  Master  of  the  "  Inef- 
fable Lodge"  at  Albany  did  not  render  it  convenient  for 
him  to  continue  longer  as  Master  of  St.  Patrick's 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS.         253 

Lodge,  his  son-in-law,  GUY  JOHNSON,  was  elected  in  his 
stead.  Sir  WILLIAM  had  been  appointed  Master  of  this 
so-called  "  Ineffable"  Lodge  as  early  as  1769,  and  he 
held  that  station  until  1773,  if  not  till  his  death.  He 
died  at  Johnson's  Hall,  July  11,  1774,  aged  sixty 
years. 

"Whatever  may  have  been  the  errors  of  his  early 
years,  his  memory  has  been  cherished  for  his  many 
virtues ;  and  he  was  spared  from  seeing  the  desolation 
that  overspread  the  Mohawk  Valley  during  the  war  of 
the  ^Revolution,  when  his  family  and  former  friends 
became  scattered,  and  the  towns  and  villages  he  had 
seen  grow  up  around  him  were  laid  in  ruins  by  in- 
furiated bands  of  wild  savages  and  misguided  loyalists. 
His  death  was  regarded  by  our  Government  as  a  pub- 
lic loss ;  for  it  was  believed  that  had  he  lived,  he  would 
have  lent  his  aid  and  powerful  influence  with  the  In- 
dians to  prevent  their  taking  up  the  tomahawk  in  be- 
half of  the  English  in  the  then  impending  conflict.  His 
influence  had  been  powerful  with  them  while  living, 
and  at  his  death  he  left  a  large  sum  of  money  to  be 
expended  in  providing  mourning  dresses  for  them ;  and 
the  chiefs  at  the  Mohawk  castles,  and  their  women 
and  children,  all  were  provided  with  some  badge  to 
wear  by  which  to  express  their  sorrow  for  his  loss. 
His  authority  on  the  Mohawk  had  been  almost  kingly, 
and  no  white  man  ever  attained  a  greater  influence 
with  the  American  Indians  than  Sir  WILLIAM  JOHNSON. 


SIR  JOHN  JOHNSON, 

THE   -<AS1    PROVINCIAL   GRAND   MASTER   OF  THE    FIRST    GRAND    LODGE 
OF    NEW    YORK. 

THE  pre-revolutionary  Provincial  Grand  Lodge  of 
the  old  colony  of  New  York,  was  held  by  authority 
granted  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  England,  sometimes 
called  Moderns,  to  distinguish  it  from  the  Dermott 
Grand  Body,  who  denominated  themselves  Ancients. 
Under  this  authority  New  York  had  four  Provincial 
Grand  Masters,  of  whom  Sir  JOHN  JOHNSON  was  the 
last. 

He  was  the  son  of  Sir  WILLIAM  JOHNSON  by  his  first 
wife,  was  born  at  Johnstown  in  1742,-  and  upon  the 
death  of  his  father,  in  1774,  succeeded  him  in  his  titles 
and  estate.  Few  records  have  come  to  us  of  his  early 
history,  but  he  probably  was  sent  to  England  to  com- 
plete his  education,  and  there  our  earliest  history  of 
him  as  a  Mason  commences.  He  was  made  a  Mason 
in  London  at  about  the  age  of  twenty-five  years,  and 
soon  after  received  a  commission  as  Provincial  Grand 
Master  of  New  York  from  Lord  BLANEY,  Grand  Master 
of  England,  and  immediately  returned  to  America. 

The  earliest  American  Masonic  records  of  Sir  JOHN 
are  those  of  St.  Patrick's  Lodge  at  Johnstown,  New 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS.          255 

York,  of  which,  his  father,  Sir  WILLIAM,  was  at  the  time 
Master.     These  records  of  December  5,  1767,  state  : 

"  Sir  JOHN  JOHNSON,  knight  (son  of  Sir  WILLIAM),  being 
lately  arrived  from  London,  where  he  had  been-  entered, 
passed,  and  raised  to  the  degree  of  a  Master  Mason  in  the 
Royal  Lodge  at  St.  James,  and  received  his  Constitution  as 
Provincial  Grand  Master  of  New  York,  applied  to  visit  the 
lodge,  and  being  examined,  was  admitted  agreeable  to  his 
degree." 

From  this  time  onward  the  records  of  St.  Patrick's 
Lodge  show  that  Sir  JOHN  was  a  constant  visitor  at  its 
stated  communications  until  May  the  3d,  1773.  They 
also  state,  December  1,  1768  : 

"  Lord  BLANEY'S  warrant  appointing  Sir  JOHN  JOHNSON, 
knight,  Grand  Master  for  the  province  of  New  York,  read ; 
upon  which  he  was  congratulated  by  the  members  present." 

November  7,  1771 : 

"The  Worshipful  Master  acquainted  the  brethren  that 
the  Right  Worshipful  Sir  JOHN  JOHNSON,  knight,  Provincial 
Grand  Master  of  New  York,  by  virtue  of  a  commission  from 
Lord  BLANEY,  Grand  Master  of  England,  had  lately  been  in- 
stalled into  that  office  by  the  Grand  Officers  in  New  York, 
and  intended  them  the  honor  of  a  visit  as  such.  He  was 
accordingly  introduced  and  received  by  the  body,  and  placed 
in  the  chair  with  the  usual  ceremonies." 

From  the  foregoing  records  of  St.  Patrick's  Lodge, 
it  appears  that  although  commissioned  as  Provincial 
Grand  Master  of  New  York  by  Lord  BLANEY  in  1767,  he 


256          WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 

was  not  installed  as  such  until  1771 ;  a  conclusion  which 
is  further  supported  by  the  fact  that  GEORGE  HARRISON, 
who  preceded  him  as  such,  granted  a  charter  to  King 
Solomon's  Lodge,  at  Poughkeepsie,  on  the  18th  of 
April,  1771. 

No  records  of  the  Provincial  Grand  Lodge  of  New 
York  during  the  Grand  Mastership  of  Sir  JOHN  JOHN- 
SON have  been  preserved,  nor  do  we  know  how  many 
subordinate  lodges  existed  in  his  jurisdiction.  St. 
George's  Lodge,  at  Schenectady,  was  chartered  by  him 
December  13,  1774.  New  York  embraced  at  that  time 
a  far  greater  extent  of  territory  than  is  contained  in  its 
present  limits,  its  acknowledged  boundaries  containing 
all  of  Canada  which  lies  south  of  the  thirty-fifth  par- 
allel of  north  latitude,  extending  west  as  far  as  Detroit ; 
and  it  also  claimed  the  present  State  of  Vermont  as 
within  its  civil  jurisdiction. 

Of  the  entire  number  of  lodges  then  in  this  district, 
no  satisfactory  account  can  be  given.  It  is  not  proba- 
ble that  many  had  been  formed,  except  in  the  eastern 
part  of  the  colony,  for  all  else  was  a  nearly  unbroken 
wilderness,  dotted  here  and  there  with  a  military  sta- 
tion. At  the  station  at  Detroit,  a  lodge  had  been  char- 
tered in  1764.  Four  lodges  also  existed  in  Connecticut, 
and  one  in  New  Jersey,  which  held  warrants  under  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  New  York,  having  been  chartered  by 
HARRISON,  the  predecessor  of  Sir  JOHN  JOHNSON. 

No  records  are  known  to  exist  of  the  doings  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  New  York  under  the  Grand  Master- 
ship of  JOHNSON.  Doctor  PETER  MIDDLETON  was  his 
Deputy  Grand  Master,  and  his  authority  as  such  con- 
tinued to  be  respected  during  the  War  of  the  Revolu- 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS.          257 

tion ;  while  Sir  JOHN,  by  his  adherence  to  the  royal 
cause,  was  compelled  to  leave  his  home  and  seek  th.e 
protection  of  the  British  army. 

He  had  inherited  little  of  his  father's  amiable  quali- 
ties with  his  title  and  estate,  and  when  the  political 
storm  gathered  in  the  horizon,  he  gave  all  his  energies 
and  influence  to  the  support  of  royalty,  and  sought  to 
embitter  his  neighbors  on  the  Mohawk,  where  he  lived, 
against  all  who  opposed  its  authority;  nor  did  his 
efforts  stop  here,  for  he  infused  the  same  malignant 
spirit  into  the  minds  of  many  of  the  Indian  tribes  in 
that  vicinity,  and  finally  became  the  leader  of  preda- 
tory bands  of  Tories  and  Indians  during  the  war. 

"We  cannot  follow  him  in  this  sketch  through  his 
military  history  during  this  seven  years'  struggle ; 
suffice  it  to  say,  that  he  became  the  acknowledged 
leader  of  the  Tories  of  central  New  York,  was  com- 
missioned as  a  colonel  by  the  British,  and  directed  the 
movements  of  as  bloody  a  band  of  savages  and  out- 
laws as  existed  during  the  Eevolution.  The  following 
oath  which  he  administered  to  the  Indians,  shows  his 
almost  unbounded  influence  with  them,  as  weh1  as  his 
own  vanity.  We  do  not  commend  its  purity  of  diction, 
but  give  it  as  a  literary  curiosity  : 

"  By  the  grace  of  GOD  unconquerable  ;  Six  Nations  and 
loyal  refugees,  swear  by  the  highest  almighties,  and  al- 
mighty GOD'S  holiness,  by  his  kingdom,  by  the  substance  of 
the  heavens,  by  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars,  by  the  earth  and 
all  under  the  earth,  by  the  brains  and  all  the  hairy  scalps  of 
our  mothers,  by  cur  heads,  and  all  the  strength  of  our 
souls  and  bodies,  I  y  the  death  of  the  great  Sir  WILLIAM 


258          WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 

JOHNSON,  that  we,  our  brother  and  son,  Sir  JOHN  JOHNSON-, 
succeeding  superintendent  of  Indian  affairs,  in  no  manner  of 
ways  in  thy  great  and  weighty  affairs  will  leave  thee  ;  and 
though  it  be  to  the  overthrow  of  our  nations,  to  be  brought 
to  nothing  until  there  shall  be  left  but  ourselves,  four  or 
five  Indians  at  the  most,  yet  will  we  defend  thee,  and  all 
those  that  do  any  ways  appertain  to  thee  ;  and  if  thou  shalt 
have  need  of  us,  we  shall  always  go  with  thee  :  and  in  case 
this  our  promise  in  an}r  way  be  frustrated,  then  let  GOD'S 
justice  fall  upon  our  heads  and  destroy  us  and  our  posterity, 
and  wipe  away  whatsoever  belongeth  unto  us,  and  gather 
it  together  into  a  rock  of  stone  or  substance  of  earth  ;  and 
that  the  earth  may  cleave  asunder  and  swallow  our  bodies 
and  souls." 

This  was  signed  by  the  chiefs  in  behalf  of  the  Six 
Nations.  Sir  JOHN  was  possessed  of  a  princely  estate 
when  the  [Revolution  commenced ;  but  it  was  confis- 
cated, and  he  and  his  family  became  exiles.  At  the 
public  sale  of  his  property,  JOHN  TAYLOR,  the  lieutenant- 
governor  of  New  York,  purchased  several  of  the  articles, 
and  among  them  the  family  Bible.  Perceiving  it  con- 
tained the  family  record,  he  wrote  a  civil  note  to  Sir 
JOHN  and  kindly  offered  its  restoration.  Some  time 
afterwards  a  messenger  from  Sir  JOHN  rudely  called  for 
the  Bible,  saying,  "I  have  come  for  Sir  WILLIAM'S 
Bible,  and  there  are  four  guineas  which  it  cost."  The 
Bible  was  delivered,  and  the  messenger  was  asked  what 
message  Sir  JOHN  had  sent.  The  reply  was,  "  Pay 
four  guineas,  and  take  the  book !" 

After  the  close  of  the  war,  Sir  JOHN  went  to  England, 
but  returned  and  settled  in  Canada  in  1784.  Here  he 
held  several  important  civil  offices,  one  of  which  was 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEEKS.          259 

governor- general  of  Canada ;  and  to  compensate  him 
for  the  loss  of  his  property,  the  English  government 
made  him  several  grants  of  land.  He  died  in  Montreal 
in  1830,  at  the  age  of  eighty-eight  years,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded in  his  title  by  his  son,  Sir  ADAM  GOKDEN 
JOHNSON. 


PEYTON  RANDOLPH, 

FIRS!    PRESIDENT    OF   THE    CONTINENTAL    CONGRESS,  AND    LAST    PRO- 
VINCIAL  GRAND    MASTER    OF    VIRGINIA. 

AMONG  the  honored  names  that  adorn  both  the  public 
and  Masonic  annals  of  Virginia,  that  of  RANDOLPH  has 
a  proud  distinction.  Two  eminent  citizens  of  the  Old 
Dominion  who  bore  it  were  the  compeers  of  WASHINGTON 
in  public  life  and  Masonic  labors.  These  were  PEYTON 
and  EDMUND  RANDOLPH.  The  RANDOLPHS  were  an  old 
and  influential  family  of  Virginia,  and  we  often  meet  the 
name  in  her  Masonic  as  well  as  general  records. 


WASHINGTON'S  AIASONIC  COMPEEKS.          261 

The  first  of  that  name  who  settled  in  Virginia  was 
WILLIAM,  of  Warwickshire,  or,  as  some  authorities  say, 
of  Yorkshire,  in  England.  He  came  to  America  about 
1670,  and  settled  at  Turkey  Island,  on  the  James  River, 
below  Richmond.  There  he  accumulated  a  large  landed 
estate,  and  became  a  member  of  the  House  of  Burgesses, 
and  of  the  Council.  His  wife,  whom  he  married  after 
he  came  to  Virginia,  was  MARY  ISHAM,  of  Bermuda 
Hundred,  who  was  descended  from  an  ancient  English 
family  in  Northamptonshire.  Several  sons  by  this 
marriage  became  men  of  distinction,  one  of  whom,  the 
sixth,  was  Sir  JOHN  RANDOLPH,  who  was  the  father  of 
PEYTON,  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  His  mother  was 
SUSAN  BEVERLEY. 

PEYTON  RANDOLPH,  who  was  the  second  son  of  Sir 
JOHN,  was  born  in  Virginia  in  the  year  1723,  and  was 
therefore  nearly  ten  years  the  senior  of  GEORGE  WASH- 
INGTON.  His  father,  Sir  JOHN,  died  in  1737,  when  PEYTON 
was  but  fourteen  years  of  age.  He  was,  at  the  time  of 
his  death,  speaker  of  the  House  of  Burgesses,  treasurer 
of  the  colony,  and  the  representative  of  William  and 
Mary  College,  where  he  had  been  educated.  He  was 
buried  in  its  chapel,  and  an  elegant  marble  tablet  was 
placed  there  to  perpetuate  his  memory. 

It  was  the  custom  of  the  wealthy  families  of  Virginia, 
at  that  period,  to  send  their  sons  to  England  to  be 
educated,  and  PEYTON  RANDOLPH  was  sent  there  for 
that  purpose  during  his  minority.  He  graduated  at 
Oxford  with  college  honors,  and  received  at  that  dis- 
tinguished seat  of  learning  the  degree  of  Master  of 
Arts.  He  studied  law,  returned  to  America,  and  was 
made  king's  attorney  for  Virginia  in  1748,  at  the  ago 


262          WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 

of  twenty-five  years.  He  had  risen  rapidly  in  his  pro- 
fession, and  was  often  the  competitor  at  the  bar  with 
the  first  legal  gentlemen  of  the  colony  at  that  early 
age.  In  his  person  he  was  tall  and  stately;  in  his 
manners,  grave  and  dignified.  His  features  were  pleas- 
ing, and  every  look  bespoke  a  patrician.  In  his  pro- 
fession he  was  noted  for  his  accuracy,  in  his  official 
capacity  for  his  incorruptible  integrity,  and  in  his  so- 
cial intercourse  for  his  generous  and  hospitable  dis- 
position. 

Connected  thus  by  paternal  and  maternal  descent 
with  the  first  families  of  the  colony,  and  enjoying  offi- 
cial and  professional  advantages  for  influence  which 
few  gentlemen  at  that  time  possessed,  he  did  not  fail 
to  secure  for  himself  high  consideration  in  the  sober 
councils  of  the  colonial  government ;  and  the  social 
circles  that  the  elite  of  Virginia  society  formed,  were 
often  graced  and  enlivened  by  his  presence. 

The  French  and  Indian  war,  which  commenced  soon 
after  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  called  many  citizens 
of  Virginia  into  the  field  to  defend  the  western  fron- 
tier. The  defeat  of  BRADDOCK  in  1755  cast  a  gloom  on 
that  colony,  which  required  the  wisest  and  boldest  to 
step  forth  in  its  military  defence ;  and  the  names  en- 
rolled as  its  defenders  in  that  war,  are  those  of  the 
heroes  who  a  few  years  later  won  for  our  country  its 
independence.  WASHINGTON  was  then  the  commander 
and  the  idol  of  the  Virginia  soldiery.  PEYTON  RAN- 
DOLPH, though  attorney-general  of  the  commonwealth, 
did  not  hesitate  to  bare  his  breast  too  in  its  defence. 
Aroused  at  the  accounts  of  devastations  and  massacres 
on  the  western  borders  of  the  colony,  Mr.  RANDOLPH,  in 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEEES.          263 

1756,  collected  a  band  of  one  hundred  men,  and  marched 
at  their  head  to  the  scene  of  action  in  aid  of  WASH- 
INGTON. 

After  retiring  from  the  military  service,  he  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  House  of  Burgesses,  and  be- 
came its  speaker  in  1766,  as  the  successor  of  Mr.  ROBIN- 
SON.  He  continued  to  preside  over  that  body  until  it 
was  superseded  by  the  conventions.  He  was  thus 
'the  last  presiding  officer  of  the  colonial  government  of 
Virginia.  His  influence  there  was  great,  and  always 
on  the  side  of  public  rights.  The  crumbs  which  royalty 
scattered  in  the  pathway  of  its  favorites  in  the  colonies 
had  no  charms  for  him,  and  he  boldly  advocated  popu- 
lar liberty  in  the  face  of  ministerial  frowns. 

In  1773  committees  of  correspondence  began  to  be 
formed  in  the  different  colonies,  to  ascertain  the  true 
position  and  sentiments  of  each.  Of  that  of  Virginia 
Mr.  RANDOLPH  was  chairman,  and  through  him  the 
cavaliers  of  Virginia  became  first  united  in  political 
sentiment  with  the  puritans  of  New  England.  We 
cannot  attempt  in  this  personal  sketch  of  Mr.  RAN^- 
DOLPH  to  give  a  portraiture  of  the  events  of  those  times, 
or  of  the  influences  that  produced  them.  Suffice  it  to 
say,  that  there  is  an  unwritten  history  of  the  silent 
influences  of  Masonry  in  producing  the  political  asso- 
ciations of  that  period.  The  mighty  brotherhood  of 
Masonry,  ever  the  friend  of  freedom,  was  omnipotent 
for  good. 

In  1774  the  first  colonial  convention  of  Virginia  as- 
sembled at  Williamsburg,  and  Mr.  RANDOLPH  was 
chosen  its  chairman.  Delegates  were  elected  by  it  to 
fl>e  Continental  Congress  soon  to  be  held  in  Philadel- 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 

phia ;  and  at  the  head  of  these  stands  the  name  of 
PEYTON  KANDOLPH  for  Virginia.  When  that  body  met 
in  September  of  that  year,  fifty-five  delegates  were 
present,  representing  twelve  different  colonies,  and  Mr. 
RANDOLPH  was  unanimously  elected  its  president.  Ho 
was  then  fifty-one  years  of  age,  in  the  prime  of  dignified 
manhood,  with  experience  as  a  presiding  officer,  and 
warmly  enlisted  in  the  cause  of  freedom.  No  step 
towards  perfecting  an  American  Union  was  so  import- 
ant as  the  one  taken  that  day.  We  have  already 
shown,  in  a  previous  sketch,  that  both  DANIEL  COXE 
and  Dr.  FRANKLIN  had  on  previous  and  different  occa- 
sions recommended  a  union  of  the  English  colonies  in 
America.  Both  these  had  failed  to  gain  a  general  ap- 
proval of  their  plans,  for  want  of  a  deep-felt  common 
interest.  In  the  present  instance,  there  was  an  in- 
terest and  purpose  combined,  that  formed  an  era  in  the 
history  of  the  western  world. 

PEYTON  RANDOLPH  was  at  that  time  a  distinguished 
Mason,  and  Provincial  Grand  Master  of  Virginia. 
When  and  where  the  veil  that  had  hid  from  his  man- 
hood's eye  Masonic  light  was  drawn,  we  have  now  no 
records  to  show.  Williamsburg,  where  he  resided,  had 
long  been  the  seat,  perhaps  the  centre  of  Masonry  in 
Virginia.  In  1773,  PEYTON  RANDOLPH  received  from 
Lord  PETRE,  Grand  Master  of  England,  a  warrant  con- 
stituting him  Master  of  the  lodge  in  Williamsburg.  It 
bore  date  in  London  on  the  6th  of  November,  and  ist 
registry  number  was  457.  For  the  benefit  of  the 
curious  Masonic  reader,  we  give  a  copy  of  the  singular 
old  English  warrant  of  this  lodge  a  place  in  our 
sketch: 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS.          205 

"PETRE,  GRAND  MASTER. 

"  To  all  and  every  our  Right  Worshipful,  Worship- 

[L.  s.]  ful,  arid  loving  Brethren,  We,  ROBERT  EDWARD   PETRE, 

Lord  PETRE,  Baron  of  Writtle,  in  the  Count}r  of  Essex, 

Grand  Master  of  the  Most  Ancient  and  Honorable  Society  of 

Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  send  Greeting. 

"  Know  Ye,  That  we,  at  the  humble  petition  of  our  right 
trusty  and  well  beloved  Brethren,  the  Honorable  PEYTON 
RANDOLPH,  Esquire,  JOHN  MINSON  GALT,  EDWARD  CHARLTON, 
WILLIAM  WADDILL,  JOHN  TURNER,  HARRISON  RANDOLPH,  JOHN 
ROWSEY,  THOMAS  HARWOOD,  and  several  other  Brethren  re- 
siding in  and  near  Williamsburg,  in  the  colony  of  Virginia, 
North  America,  do  constitute  the  said  Brethren  into  a 
regular  Lodge  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  to  be  held  in 
Williamsburg  aforesaid  ;  and  do  further,  at  their  said  peti- 
tion, and  of  the  great  trust  and  confidence  reposed  in  every 
of  the  said  above-named  Brethren,  hereby  appoint  the  said 
PEYTON  RANDOLPH  to  be  Master,  JOHN  MINSON  GALT  Senior 
Warden,  and  EDWARD  CHARLTON  Junior  Warden  for  opening 
the  said  Lodge,  and  for  such  further  time  only  as  shall  be 
thought  proper  by  the  Brethren  thereof.  It  being  our  will 
that  this  appointment  of  the  above  officers  shall  in  no  wise 
affect  any  future  election  of  officers  of  the  Lodge,  but  that 
such  election  shall  be  regulated  agreeably  to  such  By-Laws 
of  the  said  Lodge  as  shall  be  consistent  with  the  General 
Laws  of  the  Society  contained  in  the  Book  of  Constitution. 
And  we  hereby  will  and  require  you,  the  said  PEYTON  RAN- 
DOLPH, to  take  special  care  that  all  and  every  of  the  said 
Brethren  are  or  have  been  regularly  made  Masons,  and  that 
they  do  observe,  perform,  and  keep  all  the  Rules  and  Orders 
contained  in  the  Book  of  Constitution  ;  and  further,  that 
you  do,  from  time  to  time,  cause  to  -be  entered  in  a  book 
kept  for  that  purpose,  an  account  of  your  proceedings  in 

12 


206          WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 

the  Lodge,  together  with  all  such  Orders,  Rules,  and  Regu- 
lations as  shall  be  made  for  the  good  government  of  the 
same  ;  that  in  no  wise  you  omit  once  in  every  year  to  Bend 
to  us,  or  to  our  successors,  Grand  Masters,  or  to  the  Honor- 
able CHARLES  DILL.EN  our  Deputy  Grand  Master,  or  to  the 
Deputy  (Jraml  .Master  for  the  time  being,  an  account  in 
writing  of  your  proceedings,  and  copies  of  all  such  Rules, 
Orders,  and  Regulations  as  shall  be  made  as  aforesaid,  to- 
gether with  a  list  of  the  Members  of  the  Lodge,  and  such  a 
sum  of  money  as  may  suit  the  circumstances  of  the  Lodge, 
and  reasonably  be  expected  towards  the  Grand  Charity. 
Moreover,  we  hereby  will  and  require  you,  the  said  PEYTON 
RANDOLPH,  as  soon  as  conveniently  may  be,  to  send  an  ac- 
count in  writing  of  what  may  be  done  by  virtue  of  these 
presents. 

"  GIVEN  at  London  under  our  hands  and  the  seals  of  MA- 
SONRY this  sixth  day  of  November,  A.L.  5773,  A.D.  1773. 
"  By  the  Grand  Master's  command, 

"  CHARLES  DILLEN,  Deputy  Grand  Master. 
"  Witness, 
"  JAMES  HUSSELTINE,  Grand  Secretary." 

The  first  recorded  meeting  under  this  warrant  was 
held  on  St.  John's  Day,  June  24,  1774.  Mr.  KANDOLPH 
was  not  present,  and  JOHN  MINSON  GALT  presided  as 
" Deputy  Master"  It  appears  from  the  record  of  this 
date,  that  previous  meetings  had  been  held,  at  the  last 
of  which,  officers  had  been  elected  for*  the  following 
3Tear,  who  were  as  follows  :  JOHN  BLAIR,  Master ;  WIL- 
LIAM WADDILL,  Deputy  Master ;  WTT.T.TAM  FINNIE,  Senior 
Warden ;  HARBISON  EANDOLPH,  Junior  Warden ;  JOHN 
ROWSEY,  Treasurer ;  WILLIAM  EUSSELL,  Secretary ;  and 
HUMPHREY  HAYWOOD  and  JAMES  GALT,  Stewards,  who 
"being  duly  qualified,  took  their  seats  in  due  form." 


WASHINGTON'S   MASONIC   COMPEERS.  267 

On  the  5th  of  July,  1774,  the  name  of  PEYTON  BAN- 
DOLPH  first  appears  on  the  records  as  present  at  the 
lodge,  where,  the  records  state,  he  presided  as  Provin- 
cial Grand  Master,  with  JOHN  BLAIR  as  Master,  WIL- 
LIAM WADDILL  as  Deputy  Master,  etc.  From  this  it 
appears  that  Mr.  BANDOLPH  had  at  this  time  been  ap- 
pointed Provincial  Grand  Master  of  Virginia,  a  rank, 
which  records  show,  he  held  till  the  time  of  his  death. 
The  first  Continental  Congress  therefore  was  presided 
over  by  the  highest  Masonic  officer  present,  and  he  a 
Provincial  Grand  Master.  What  number  of  Masons 
were  members  of.  the  body  we  know  not,  for  the  Ma- 
sonic records  of  that  day  were  mostly  lost  during  the 
revolutionary  struggle  which  followed.  Even  the 
record-book  of  the  Williamsburg  Lodge,  from  which 
the  foregoing  extracts  and  facts  are  drawn,  is  lost  to 
our  Virginia  Brethren,  and  is  now  in  possession  of  an 
antiquarian  in  another  jurisdiction  who  is  not  a  Ma- 
son !  We  well  know  that  WASHINGTON  and  many  of  his 
Masonic  compeers  were  members.  From  the  bright 
list  of  the  members  of  that  body  we  can  say,  from  ex- 
isting Masonic  records  of  some,  they  ivere  our  brothers  ; 
and  of  others,  where  no  records  verify  the  fact, 

"I  know  thee,  from  thy  apron  white, 

An  architect  to  be. 
I  know  thee,  from  thy  trowel  bright, 
Well  skilled  in  Masonry." 

After  a  secret  session  of  less  than  two  months,  this 
Congress  adjourned  to  meet  again  when  occasion 
should  require.  On  the  4th  of  October  of  this  year  the 
records  of  Williamsburg  Lodge  give  the  following  in- 


'1268          WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 

teresting  account  of  laying  the  corner-stone  of  Wil- 
liamsburg  Bridge : 

"The  design  of  this  meeting  being  to  lay  the  foundation-1 
stone  of  the  stone  bridge  to  be  built  at  the  Capitol  Landing, 
the  lodge  accordingly  repaired  thereto,  and  after  the  usual 
libations,  and  having  placed  the  medal  under  the  corner- 
stone, and  laid  the  same  in  due  form,  closed  the  lodge  ;  thp 
inscription  of  which  medal  is  as  follows  : 

"  '  GEORGIO  TERTIO  REGE  ; 

COMITE    DUNMORE    PROFECTO 

PEYTON  RANDOLPH  LATAMORUM  PROSIDE  SUPREMO  ; 

JOHANNE  BLAIR  PROSIDE. 

A.  L.  5774.'" 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Williamsburg  Lodge  on  the 
15th  of  December  following,  the  officers  present  stand 
recorded : 

"  PEYTON  RANDOLPH,  Grand  Master. 

"  JOHN  BLAIR,  Master. 

"  WILLIAM  WADDILL,  Deputy  Master. 

"  WILLIAM  FINNIE,  Senior  Warden. 

"  EDMUND  RANDOLPH,  Junior  Warden  Pt. 

"  JOHN  ROWSEY,  Treasurer. 

"  WILLIAM  RUSSELL,  Secretary. 

"HENBYj-HARWOOD4  Stewards. 
"  JAMES  GALT,  j 

"  JOHN  MINSON  GALT,  Past  Master." 
On  the  16th  of  June,  1775,  the  records  state  : 

"  On  the  petition  of  Brother  PEALE,  desiring  the  loan  of 
the  picture  belonging  to  this  lodge,  which  was  taken  for 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEEES. 

our  Worshipful  Provincial  Grand  Master,  the  same  was 
granted  him  upon  his  giving1  security  for  the  safe  return  of 
the  same  at  the  appointed  time." 

Such  are  the  existing  records  of  PEYTON  RANDOLPH 
as  a  Mason  at  this  interesting  period  of  his  life.  Con- 
gress had  in  May,  1775,  reassembled  in  Philadelphia, 
and  Mr.  RANDOLPH  was  again  elected  its  President ;  but 
his  health  failing  him,  he  resigned  the  position,  and 
JOHN  HANCOCK  was  elected  his  successor.  He  visited 
Virginia,  but  soon  returned  and  took  his  seat  as  a 
member  of  the  National  Council.  While  in  the  per- 
formance of  his  duties  there,  he  died  suddenly  of  apo- 
plexy, on  the  22d  of  October,  1775,  in  the  fifty-third 
year  of  his  age.  His  body  was  placed  in  a  vault  in 
Philadelphia,  to  await  the  orders  of  his  family. 

Upon  receiving  notice  of  his  death,  the  lodge  in 
WiHiarnsburg  took  the  following  action,  as  seen  by  its 
record  of  November  6,  1775  : 

"  Ordered,  That  the  lodge  go  into  mourning  for  our  late 
worthy  Grand  Master,  and  continue  till  his  corpse  shall 
arrive  ;  and  that  this  lodge  attend  in  procession,  and  that 
the  order  be  published  in  the  Virginia  Gazette." 

On  the  21st  of  December  the  lodge  ordered, 

"  That  Brother  WILLSON  PEALE  be  wrote  to,  to  return  the 
speaker's  picture" 

Mrs.  RANDOLPH  presented  to  the  lodge,  after  her 
husband's  death,  his  jewel,  sash,  and  apron,  and  when 
the  lodge  met  on  the  27th  of  December  of  that  year,  it 
was — 


270          WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 

"  Ordered,  that  the  lodge  return  their  thanks  for  tho 
present  made  this  lodge  by  Mrs.  RANDOLPH,  of  the  Provincial 
Grand  Master's  jewel,  sash,  and  apron." 

On  this  occasion  an  address  was  delivered  before  tlio 
lodge  by  the  Keverend  Brother  WILLIAM  BLAND,  its 
chaplain,  from  which  we  give  the  following  extract  re- 
lating to  the  death  of  Mr.  KANDOLPH  : 

"  Our  forefathers  cultivated  Masonry  with  devotion,  and 
made  the  dreary  wilderness  of  America  smile  with  the 
brotherly  love  that  she  inculcated  ;  but  to  the  disgrace  of 
moderns,  she  is  now  almost  exiled. 

"  Few  are  the  places  in  this  western  world  in  which  she 
can  claim  rest  for  her  blest  feet ;  fewer  still  are  there  where 
her  votaries  are  sincere.  The  genius  of  Masonry,  my  breth- 
ren, does  not  consist  in  frequenting  established  meetings, 
or  decorating  ourselves  with  the  insignia  belonging  to  our 
profession.  If  there  be  a  brother  that  dare  pass  by  his 
neighbor  in  distress,  or  because  he  himself  possesses  the  light, 
would  turn  the  blind  man  out  of  his  way,  acknowledge  him 
not.  The  name  of  a  brother  is  an  empty  sound,  indeed,  if 
we  refuse  our  hand  to  one  fallen  into  a  pit,  disdain  to  re- 
lieve the  sorrows  of  the  widow  and  the  orphan,  or  discard 
from  our  lives  the  exercise  of  patriotism — the  highest  re- 
finement of  brotherly  love. 

"But- wherefore  was  I  about  to  draw  the  character  of  a 
true  Mason  !  For  not  long  time  since  you  had  a  bright 
example  to  imitate  and  admire, — surely,  I  am  not  called 
upon  for  his  name,  for  it  can  never  be  forgotten.  All  North 
America  was  under  his  wing,  but  we  his  peculiar  care. 
Write  a  virtue  which  he  had  not  faithfully  transcribed  into 
his  practice,  or  enumerate  an  excellence  to  which  his  heart 
was  a  stranger.  If  malice  could  be  found  within  these 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEEKS.     .     271 

walls,  she  would  be  silenced  by  the  contemplation  of  his 
memory,  and  envy  herself  bear  no  fangs  against  him.  That 
great  man — great  let  me  call  him — revived  the  drooping 
spirit  of  Masonry.  The  few  remaining  of  the  Elect  he  concen- 
trated in  this  place,  and  to  him  must  we  ascribe  the  present 
numerous  appearance  of  Brethren. 

"  I  could  dwell  forever  on  the  remembrance  of  him,  but 
I  fear  that  my  short  acquaintance  with  the  sublime  parts  of 
MasDnry,  prevent  me  from  doing  justice  to  him.  We  all 
know  how  gracefully  he  filled  that  chair,  and  I  congratulate 
my  brethren  that  we  once  had  such  a  head,  such  a  father." 

The  remains  of  Mr.  BANDOLPH  lay  in  the  tomb  at 
Philadelphia  until  November,  1776,  when  they  were 
taken  by  his  nephew,  EDMUND  RANDOLPH,  to  Williams- 
burg,  where  they  were  interred  by  the  side  of  those  of 
his  father  in  the  college  chapel  with  Masonic  cere- 
monies. On  their  arrival  the  lodge  met,  and  from  its 
records  of  November  26th  we  make  the  following 
extract : 

"  Met  and  agreed  on  the  form  of  the  procession  of  our 
late  worthy  Brother  PEYTON  RANDOLPH,  Grand  Master  of 
Virginia,  deceased,  and  then  repairing  to  the  Lodge  Chapel ; 
after  the  corpse  was  interred,  returned  to  the  lodge,  and  ad- 
journed till  a  lodge  in  course." 

The  following  further  account  of  the  ceremonies  on 
that  occasion  we  copy  from  the  public  prints  of  that 
day:  - 

"  WILLIAMSBUKG,  November  29,  177C. 

"  On  Tuesday  last  the  remains  of  our  late  amiable  and  be- 
loved fellow-citizen,  the  Honorable  PEYTON  RANDOLPH,  Esquire^ 


272          WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 

were  conveyed  in  a  hearse  to  the  college  chapel,  attended 
by  the  Worshipful  Brotherhood  of  Freemasons,  both  Houses 
of  Assembly,  a  number  of  other  gentlemen,  and  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  city.  The  body  was  received  from  the  bearers 
by  gentlemen  of  the  House  of  Delegates,  who  conveyed  it  to 
the  family  vault  in  the  chapel,  after  which  an  excellent 
oration  was  pronounced  from  the  pulpit  by  the  Reverend 
THOMAS  DAVIS*  in  honor  of  the  deceased,  recommending 
to  the  respectable  audience  to  imitate  his  virtues.  The 
oration  being  ended,  the  body  was  deposited  in  the  vault, 
when  every  spectator  paic^  their  last  tribute  of  tears  to 
the  memory  of  their  departed  and  much  honored  friend, — 
may  we  add,  to  whom  he  was  a  father  and  able  counsellor, 
and  one  of  our  firmest  patriots.  The  remains  of  this  worthy 
man  were  brought  hither  from  Philadelphia  by  EDMUND 
RANDOLPH,  Esq.,  at  the  earnest  request  of  his  uncle's  afflicted 
and  inconsolable  widow." 

PEYTON  RANDOLPH  was  the  second  Provincial  Grand 
Master  whose  death  had  been  enrolled  in  the  list  of  the 
active  defenders  of  American  liberty  at  this  period.  "W.ui- 
BEN  had  fallen  on  the  early  battle-fields  of  our  country, 
RANDOLPH  in  its  council  chambers.  The  death  of  each 
was  a  prelude  to  the  great  change  which  soon  after 
took  place  in  the  polity  of  Masonry  in  our  country. 
Hitherto  all  American  Grand  Masters  held  their 
authority  by  appointment  from  the  Mother  Grand 
Lodge  in  Great  Britain.  Now,  for  the  first  time,  the 
Craft  in  America  began  to  inquire  into  their  own  in- 
herent powers  to  assume  an  elective  supremacy.  It 

*  The  Reverend  THOMAS  DAVIS,  years  afterwards,  officiaied  as  rector 
of  Christ's  Church  and  chaplain  of  Alexandria  Lodge,  at  Tie  burial  of 
WASHINGTON. 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS.          273 

has  been  assumed  by  Masonic  writers  in  our  country, 
that  the  Craft  in  Massachusetts  were  the  first  to  con- 
template the  election  of  American  Grand  Masters. 
This  we  believe  to  be  a  historical  error,  for  Masonic 
records  of  Yirginia  show,  that  the  earliest  proposition 
for  such  action  came  from  iihat  State.  Massachusetts 
records  show  the  Craft  for  the  first  time  contemplat- 
ing this  question  there,  when  assembled  in  Boston  on 
the  27th  of  December,  1776,  by  the  Deputy  Grand 
Master  of  the  late  Dr.  JOSEPH  WAKKEN,  to  celebrate  the 
festival  of  St.  John  the  Evangelist.  The  records  of  the 
old  lodge  in  Williamsburg  show,  on  the  3d  of  the  same 
month,  a  prior  record  of  interest  to  this  question.  It 
was  their  first  meeting  after  the  burial  of  Mr.  RAN- 
DOLPH. "We  give  an  extract  from  the  Williamsburg 
records  to  verify  this  statement : 

"December  3,  1776. — WM.  WADDILL,  Master. 
"  On  motion  made,  Resolved,  That  the  Master  of  this  lodge 
be  directed  to  write  to  all  the  regular  lodges  in  this  State, 
requesting  their  attendance  by  their  deputies,  at  this  lodge, 
in  order  to  form  a  convention  to  choose  a  GRAND  MASTER 
for  the  State  of  Virginia,  on  the  first  day  of  the  next  As- 
sembly." 

The  limits  of  our  sketch  do  not  admit  of  further  con- 
necting lines  between  the  death  of  PEYTON  EANDOLPH 
and  the  elective  supremacy  of  Masonry  in  our  country. 
We  have  already  stated,  in  our  sketch  of  WASHINGTON, 
that  when  the  convention  of  Masonic  delegates  in  Yir- 
ginia met  a  few  months  later,  they  proposed  his  name 
first,  as  the  most  worthy  to  wear  the  earliest  jewel  of 
an  elective  American  Grand  Master. 


274          WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 

The  closing  record  of  the  old  colonial  lodge  of  Wil- 
liam sburg  relating  to  PEYTON  RANDOLPH,  is  as  follows, 
under  date  June  3,  1777  : 

"Resolved,  That  there  shall  be  an  elegant  frame  made  to 
the  picture  of  -our  late  worthy  and  Honorable  Provincial 
Grand  Master;  and  that  the*Treasurcr  be  appointed  to  em- 
ploy some  person  to  make  it." 

This  portrait '  of  Mr.  RANDOLPH,  or  the  copy  by  Mr. 
PEALE,  afterwards  became  one  of  the  treasures  of  the 
Congressional  Library,  but  was  destroyed  by  fire  a 
few  years  ago.  It  was  adorned,  as  we  show  in  our  en- 
graving, with  a  Masonic  sash,  and  Master's  jewel  hang- 
ing pendent  from  its  angle. 


EDMUND  RANDOLPH, 

30VEEXOR    OF    VIRGINIA,    AND    GRAND    MASTER    OF   MASONS     IN   THAT 
COMMONWEALTH. 

EDMUND  KANDOLPH  was  a  nephew  of  PEYTON  RAN- 
DOLPH.  His  father  was  JOHN,  the  brother  of  PEYTON, 
son  of  Sir  JOHN,  and  grandson  of  WILLIAM,  the  first  of 
the  Virginia  RANDOLPHS.  He  was  the  fourth  in  descent 
of  the  American  family.  Both  his  father  and  his 
grandfather,  and  also  PEYTON  his  uncle,  had  held  the 
office  of  king's  attorney  in  the  commonwealth,  and  were 
all  noted  lawyers  ;  consequently  he  was  bred  to  the 
same  profession.  PEYTON  RANDOLPH  had  succeeded 
Sir  JOHN  in  that  office,  and  while  holding  it,  he  went 
to  England  as  the  agent  of  Virginia,  just  before  the 
Revolution.  While  in  London,  his  independent  spirit 
led  him  to  speak  his  mind  too  freely  on  the  subject  of 
colonial  rights  to  please  the  English  ministry,  and  he 
was  displaced  as  attorney-general,  and  his  brother 
JOHN,  the  father  of  EDMUND,  who  is  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  was  appointed  in  his  stead.  JOHN  had  been 
doing  the  duties  of  the  office  for  his  brother  PEYTON 
during  his  absence  to  England,  and  superseded  him, 
by  being  the  pliant  advocate  of  the  English  min- 
istry in  their  obnoxious  taxation  measures.  When 


276          WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 

the  Revolution  commenced,  lie  was  a  decided  royalist, 
and  supported  Lord  DUNMORE,  the  royal  governor  of 
the  commonwealth,  in  all  his  efforts  to  maintain  the 
king's  power  in  Virginia.  In  this  they  failed,  and 
JOHN  RANDOLPH  disinherited  his  son  EDMOND  for  his 
joining  the  patriot  cause,  and  soon  left,  with  Lord 
DUNMORE  and  other  royalists,  for  England.  He,  how- 
ever, bitterly  repented  his  choice,  died  of  a  broken 
heart  in  1784,  and  his  remains  were,  by  his  request, 
brought  to  Virginia  and  buried  at  Williamsburg. 

Deserted  and  disowned  by  his  father,  EDMUND  RAN- 
DOLPH was  adopted  by  PEYTON,  his  uncle.  We  know 
not  his  age  at  this  time,  for  we  have  no  record  of  his 
birth  before  us.  He  had  grown  to  manhood,  for  he 
succeeded  his  father  as  attorney- general  of  the  com- 
monwealth. He  was  also  a  Mason  at  that  time,  and 
was  a  member  of  the  lodge  at  Williamsburg,  of  which 
his  uncle  was  first  Master.  His  name  appears  on  its 
records  at  its  organization,  June  24,  1774;  and  on  the 
4th  of  the  following  October  he  was  appointed  by  the 
lodge  to  revise  its  by-laws.  Upon  the  sudden  death 
of  his  uncle,  PEYTON  RANDOLPH,  at  Philadelphia,  his 
relatives  not  being  present,  his  remains  were  deposited 
in  a  tomb  in  that  city.  In  the  following  year,  EDMOND 
RANDOLPH,  who  was  then  with  the  army  at  Cambridge 
as  one  of  WASHINGTON'S  aids,  repaired  to  Philadel- 
phia, and  removed  the  body  to  WiUiamsburg,  where 
it  was  interred  in  St.  Mary's  Chapel  with  Masonic 
honors. 

In  1776  he  married,  and  this  event  was  thus  an- 
nounced in  the  Virginia  Gazette,  accompanied  by  the 
following  poetic  lines 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS.         277 

"  EDMUND  RANDOLPH,  Esq.*  Attorney-General  of  Virginia, 
to  Miss  BETSEY  NICHOLAS,  a  young  lady,  whose  amiable 
sweetness  of  disposition,  joined  with  the  finest  intellectual 
accomplishments,  cannot  fail  of  rendering  the  worthy  man 
of  her  choice  completely  happy. 

"Fain  would  the  aspiring  muse  attempt  to  sing 

The  virtues  of  this  amiable  pair ; 
But  how  shall  I  attuue  the  trembling  string, 

Or  sound  a  note  that  can  such  worth  declare? 
Exalted  theme !  too  high  for  human  lays  ! 

Could  my  weak  verse  with  beauty  be  inspired, 
In  numbers  smooth  I'd  chant  my  Betsey's  praise, 

And  tell  how  much  her  Eandolph  is  admired. 
To  light  the  hymenial  torch  since  they've  resolved, 

Kind  Heaven,  I  trust,  will  make  them  truly  blest ; 
And  when  the  Gordian  knot  shall  be  dissolved, 

Translate  them  to  eternal  peace  and  rest." 

In  1779  Mr.  EANDOLPH  was  electecl  by  his  State  a 
delegate  to  the  Continental  Congress,  and  he  served  in 
that  station  until  March,  1782.  While  a  member  of 
that  body,  he  offered  the  resolution,  after  the  defeat  of 
COENWALLIS  at  Yorktown  in  1781,  to  publicly  return 
thanks  to  Almighty  God  for  crowning  our  army  with 
success. 

An  independent  Grand  Lodge  of  Masons  had  been 
formed  in  Virginia  in  1778,  and  of  that  Grand  Body 
EDMUND  EANDOLPH  was  elected  Deputy  Grand  Master, 
in  1784.  He  held  the  office  for  two  years,  and  upon 
the  27th  of  October,  1786,  he  was  elected  Grand 
Master  of  Masons  in  Virginia.  He  held  this  office  by 
re-election  until  October  28th,  1788.  During  the  last 
year  of  his  Grand  Mastership,  he  had  the  honor  of 


278          WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 

granting  a  warrant  to   the  lodge  at  Alexandria,  con- 
stituting WASHINGTON  its  Master. 

In  1786,  while  he  was  Deputy  Grand  Master  of  Vir- 
ginia, he  was  elected  to  succeed  PATRICK  HENRY  as 
governor  of  the  commonwealth.  While  holding  that 
office,  and  also  that  of  Grand  Master  of  Masons,  he 
represented  his  State,  in  conjunction  with  WASHINGTON 
and  other  distinguished  delegates,  in  the  convention 
at  Philadelphia,  that  formed  the  Federal  Constitution 
in  1787. 

As  a  member  of  the  convention,  his  views  on  politi- 
cal science  coincided  with  those  of  PATRICK  HENRY,  and 
other  members,  who  believed  the  rights  of  individual 
States  had  been  too  far  yielded  in  that  instrument. 
But  when  its  ratification  came  before  the  people  of 
Virginia,  his  desire  for  a  harmonious  union  overcame 
his  apprehension  of  its  imperfections,  and  his  vote  was 
given  for  its  adoption.  When  the  new  government 
was  organized  under  this  constitution,  in  1789,  WASH- 
INGTON made  Governor  KANDOLPH  his  attorney-general ; 
and  in  1794,  under  the  second  administration  of 
WASHINGTON,  he  succeeded  Mr.  JEFFERSON  as  secretary 
of  state.  In  1795  he  resigned  this  office  on  account 
of  some  misunderstanding  with  the  Administration, 
and  withdrew  from  public  life.  He  never  again  entered 
the  political  field,  but  died  in  Frederick  County,  in  his 
native  State,  on  the  12th  of  September,  1813. 

Governor  RANDOLPH  was  a  devoted  member  of  the 
Episcopal  Church,  being  many  years  one  of  his  vestry- 
men. All  of  his  Virginia  ancestors  had  been  members 
of  the  same  Church,  and  for  four  generations  they  had 
been  vestrymen  also  in  it.  The  following  extract  from 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS.          279 

a  paper  written  fey  him  soon  after  the  death  of  his 
wife,  and  addressed  to  his  children,  is  an  interesting 
commentary  on  his  religious  history  and  character. 

"  Up  to  the  commencement  of  the  Revolution,  the  Church 
of  England  was  the  established  religion,  in  which  your 
mother  had  been  educated  with  strictness,  if  not  with  big- 
otry. From  the  strength  of  parental  example,  her  attend- 
ance on  public  worship  was  unremitted,  except  where  in- 
superable obstacles  occurred ;  the  administration  of  the 
sacrament  was  never  without  a  cause  passed  by  ;  in  her 
closet,  prayer  was  uniformly-  addressed  to  the  throne  of 
mercy  ;  and  the  questioning  of  the  sacred  truths  she  never 
permitted  herself,  or  heard  from  others  without  abhorrence. 
When  we  were  united,  I  was  a  deist,  made  so  by  my  con- 
fidence in  some  whom  I  revered,  and  by  the  labors  of  two 
of  my  preceptors,  who,  though  in  the  ministry,  poisoned  me 
with  books  of  infidelity.  I  cannot  answer  to  myself  that  I 
should  ever  have  been  brought  to  examine  the  genuineness 
of  Holy  Writ,  if  I  had  not  observed  the  consoling  influence 
which  it  wrought  upon  the  life  of  my  dearest  BETSEY.  I  rec- 
ollect well  that  it  was  not  long  before  I  adopted  a  prin- 
ciple which  I  have  never  relinquished  : — that  woman,  in  the 
present  state  of  society,  is,  without  religion,  a  monster. 

While  my  opinions  were  unsettled,  Mr. and  Mrs. 

came  to  my  house,  on  Sunday  evening,  to  play  with  me  at 
chess.  She  did  not  appear  in  the  room ;  and  her  reproof, 
which  from  its  mildness  was  like  the  manna 'of  heaven,  has 
operated  perpetually  as  an  injunction  from  above  ;  for,  sev- 
eral years  since  I  detected  the  vanity  of  sublunary  things, 
and  knew  that  the  good  of  man  consisted  in  Christianity 
alone.  I  have  often  hinted  a  wish  that  we  had  instituted  a 
course  of  family  prayer  for  the  benefit  of  our  children,  on 


'280 

whose  minds,  when  most  pliant,  the  habit  might  be  fixed. 
But  I  know  not  why  the  plan  was  not  enforced  until  during 
her  last  illness,  when  she  and  I  frequently  joined  in  prayer. 
She  always  thanked  me  when  it  was  finished  ;  and  it  grieves 
rne  to  think  that  she  should  suppose  that  this  enlivening 
inducement  was  necessary  in  order  to  excite  me  to  this 
duty." 

This  exposition  of  liis  religious  sentiment  was  de- 
signed for  his  children  only;  but  its  beautiful  simpli- 
city and  genuine  piety  make  it  justly  a  part  of  his 
history.  It  is  the  halo  of  Christianity,  ornamenting 
the  brow  of  this  distinguished  governor  and  Grand 
Master  of  Yirginia. 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN, 

MASTER    OF    THE    FIRST    WARRANTED    LODGE    IN    PENNSYLVANIA,  AND 
PROVINCIAL    GRAND   MASTER    OF    THAT    PROVINCE. 

THE  name  of  BENJAMIN  FEANKLIN  illumines  the  history 
of  Masonry,  and  of  our  country,  for  more  than  one- 
half  of  the  last  century.  Its  diamond  light  is  not  con- 
fined to  the  city,  the  province,  or  the  country  that  ga^  A 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 

him  birth.  The  orient  borrows  a  ray  from  it,  and  wher- 
ever the  evening  twilight  lingers,  or  the  polar-star 
guides,  or  the  southern-cross  gleams,  there  the  torch 
which  he  lighted  from  the  clouds  above  him,  irradiates 
the  pathway  still  of  every  civilized  nation.  Of  his 
humble  birth  in  Boston,  on  the  17th  of  January,  1706 ; 
of  his  early  employment  in  an  occupation  unsuited  to 
his  genius ;  of  his  being  indentured  to  his  brother  as 
a  printer's  apprentice,  and  fleeing  from  his  petty 
tyranny  to  Philadelphia ;  of  his  amusing  introduction 
to  that  city,  and  his  boyhood  success  there ;  of  his 
leaving  it  for  a  voyage  to  London  while  he  was  yet  in 
his  minority,  and  of  his  first  London  life  ; — every  step 
from  tottering  infancy  to  bold  reliant  manhood,  has 
been  often  told,  and  we  need  not  repeat  them  in  our 
sketch  of  his  Masonic  life. 

Leaving  the  youth  of  FRANKLIN  with  all  its  romantic 
incidents  and  instructive  lessons  behind  us,  we  find 
him  on  his  return  from  England  in  the  autumn  of  1726, 
in  his  twenty-first  year,  recommencing  his  citizenship 
in  Philadelphia,  with  a  body  strong  and  vigorous,  a 
mind  active  and  well  cultivated,  and  with  a  knowledge 
of  his  art,  and  an  experience  gained  in  the  school  of 
the  world,  which  well  fitted  him  to  step  boldly  on  to  the 
platform  of  active  life.  His  intentions  at  this  period 
were  to  fit  himself  for  a  mercantile  life,  but  the  death 
of  his  employer  soon  induced  him  to  engage  again  as 
a  printer,  and  his  industry,  integrity,  and  studious 
habits  soon  gained  him  friends,  competence,  and  dis- 
tinction. 

His  social  qualities  and  intelligence  at  first  drew 
around  him  a  few  congenial  spirits,  and  a  literary  clut 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS.          283 


was  formed  for  mental  improvement.  While  in  London 
he  had  become  familiar  with  the  existence  of  the  vari- 
ous clubs  and  other  social  societies  that  existed  there, 
and  the  organization  of  Freemasonry  had  no  doubt 
come  under  his  observation.  This  institution  there 
was  then  just  emerging  from  a  situation  which  the 
common  observer  might  have  regarded  as  a  system  of 
voluntary  social  clubs,  and  its  pretentious  to  antiquity, 
its  moral  and  scientific  basis,  and  its  written  rules  and 
regulations,  had  lately  been  given  to  the  public  in  a 
quarto  volume  called  "Anderson's  Constitutions."  These 
had  been  accepted  there  by  a  part  of  the  Fraternity  as 
their  governing  code  of  rules,  while  others  still  adhered 
to  the  immemorial  rights  and  usages  of  Masons  when 
convened.  There  can  be  very  little  doubt  but  that 
FKANKLIN  brought  home  with  him  some  knowledge  of 
the  Fraternity,  although  not  an  initiate  into  its  mys- 
teries. 

As  the  limits  of  this  sketch  will  not  allow  a  detail  of 
all  the  incidents  of  FEANKLIN'S  private  and  public  life, 
however  interesting  and  instructive  they  may  be,  we 
shall  pass  over  many  of  them,  and  confine  our  consider- 
ation more  to  those  which  show  his  character  as  a 
Mason,  and  the  influence  which  his  connection  with 
this  fraternity  may  have  had  on  his  after-life.  This 
we  do  more  especially  from  believing  that  all  which 
concerns  the  personal  history  of  our  representative 
men,  should  be  fairly  considered  'as  a  part  of  our 
national  character,  and  from  a  belief  that  the  Masonic 
character  and  connection  of  our  public  men  of  the  last 
century,  has  been  unwarrantably  lost  sight  of,  in  tho 
history  of  our  country.  Perhaps  this  has  arisen  from 


284         WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 

an  undue  prejudice  which  writers  may  have  had  against 
the  institution  of  Freemasonry,  or  from  an  ignorance 
of  its  principles  and  influence. 

With  FRANKLIN,  whatever  induced  scientific  research, 
and  strengthened  the  fraternal  bonds  that  thus  bound 
society  together,  had  especial  value ;  and  when  he 
found  that  Freemasonry  embraced  in  its  teachings  the 
highest  moral  rectitude,  founded  on  the  Fatherhood  of 
God  as  a  common  parent,  and  the  brotherhood  of  man 
as  His  offspring,  and  that  it  inculcated  a  study  of  His 
perfections  as  revealed  in  the  works  of  nature  as  well 
as  in  His  written  word,  he  at  once  became  a  devotee  at 
its  altar.  No  record  has  come  down  to  us  of  the  time 
and  place  where  he  first  received  Masonic  light.  It 
was  not  the  custom  of  the  Fraternity  in  the  early  part 
of  the  last  century  to  preserve  written  records  of  its 
meetings  when  convened  for  work ;  besides,  when 
warranted  lodges  were  first  established  in  America, 
they  little  knew  how  much  interest  would  in  time  be 
felt  in  their  early  history.  The  brief  records  they  may 
have  written,  have  in  many  cases,  too,  been  destroyed 
or  lost.  It  is  not  known  how  or  when  the  first  lodge 
of  Freemasons  was  instituted  in  Philadelphia.  A  few 
brethren  who  had  been  made  Masons  in  the  old  country, 
may  have  met  and  opened  lodges  from  time  to  time, 
and  initiated  others,  without  keeping  any  record.  The 
earliest  notices  we  find  of  Masonic  lodges  in  that  city, 
are  in  the  public  newspapers  of  that  day,  which  show 
the  meetings  of  the  Fraternity  there  in  1732,  where 
they  give  the  name  of  WILLIAM  ALLEN,  the  Recorder  of 
the  city,  as  their  Grand  Master.  They  met  at  that 
time  at  the  "Tun  Tavern;"  and  one  of  the 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS.         285 

lodges  in  Philadelphia  was  formerly  called  Tun  Lodge, 
in  allusion  to  the  place  of  its  early  meetings. 

There  is  no  known  record  of  FRANKLIN'S  being  a 
member  of  the  Fraternity  previous  to  this ;  but  in  1732 
he  was  Senior  Warden  under  WILLIAM  ALLEN.  In  his 
own  personal  narrative  he  gives  his  written  observa- 
tions, in  May,  1731,  in  which  he  says  : 

"  There  seems  to  me  at  present  to  be  great  occasion  for 
raising  a  United  Party  for  Virtue,  by  forming  the  virtuous 
and  good  men  of  all  nations  into  a  regular  body,  to  be 
governed  by  suitable,  good,  and  wise  rules,  which  good  and 
wise  men  may  probably  be  more  unanimous  in  their  obedi- 
ence to,  than  common  people  are  to  common  laws.  I  at 
present  think,  that  whoever  attempts  this  aright,  and  is  well 
qualified,  cannot  fail  of  pleasing  God,  and  of  meeting  with 


He  has  also  left  us  a  record  of  what  he  believed 
should  be  the  fundamental  principles  of  such  a  union 
or  society,  which  he  reduced  to  six  heads — viz. : 

"  That  there  is  one  God,  who  made  all  things. 

"  That  He  governs  the  world  by  His  providence. 

"  That  He  ought  to  be  worshipped  by  adoration,  prayer, 
and  thanksgiving. 

"  But  that  the  most  acceptable  service  to  God  is  doing 
good  to  man. 

"  That  the  soul  is  immortal. 

"  And  that  God  will  certainly  reward  virtue  and  punish 
vice,  either  here  or  hereafter." 

It  is  a  matter  of  curious  speculation  rather  than  of 


286          WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 

certainty,  whether  FRANKLIN  drew  this  epitome  of  the 
great  moral  governing  principles  of  Freemasonry  from 
his  own  reflections,  or  had  been  taught  them  in  a  lodge 
of  the  craft.  If  the  former,  he  was  certainly  prepared 
///  7//,v  heart  to  be  a  Mason  :  if  the  latter,  he  either 
lieved  that  to  be  a  Mason,  required  in  addition  to  1 1 
a  greater  attention  to  the  arts  and  sciences  than  all 
good  men  were  disposed  to  give ;  or  he  believed  that 
an  organization,  semi-masonic,  might  be  beneficial,  in 
which  the  initiates  might  first  be  schooled  in  the  moral 
principles  of  Masonry,  before  they  were  admitted  to 
its  mysteries ;  for  he  proposed  at  that  time  to  form  a 
secret  club,  to  be  called  THE  SOCIETY  OF  THE  FREE  AND 
EASY.  This,  he  says,  he  communicated  in  part  to  two  of 
his  companions,  who  adopted  it  with  some  enthusiasm  ; 
but  his  multifarious  public  and  private  engagements  so 
occupied  his  time,  that  it  was  postponed,  and  finally 
abandoned. 

We  pass  over  three  years  more  of  FRANKLIN'S  life, 
during  which  he  was  engaged  as  a  printer  and  stationer 
— and  in  which  he  commenced  the  publication  of  his 
Poor  Richard's  Almanac* — and  find  him  receiving  a 
written  warrant  from  HENRY  PRICE,  Provincial  Grand 
Master  of  Massachusetts,  constituting  him  Master  of 
the  Lodge,  and  probably  of  all  the  Masons  in  Philadel- 
phia. The  exact  date  of  this  authority  from  PRICE 
cannot  be  given.  Massachusetts  authorities  say  it  was 
June  24th,  1734,  while  Pennsylvania  authorities  say 
that  on  that  day  the  brethren  in  Philadelphia  celebra- 

*  This  almanac  was  commenced  in  1732,  and  continued  until  1757. 
It  was  exceedingly  popular,  and  he  sold  about  ten  thousand  copies  of 
it  annually. 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS.          287 

ted  tlie  festival  of  St.  John  the  Baptist,  under  their 
old  organization,  and  haying  accepted  the  authority  of 
St.  John's  Grand  Lodge  at  Boston,  they  ratified  the 
choice  of  FRANKLIN  as  their  Master  (or  Grand  Master, 
as  they  chose  to  term  him).  This  apparent  discrep- 
ancy in  the  date  of  FRANKLIN'S  authority  from  PRICE, 
and  his  commencing  his  official  duties  under  it  in  Phil- 
adelphia, both  being  given  as  the  same  day,  probably 
arose  from  PRICE  having  granted  to  FRANKLIN  a  depu- 
tation previous  to  the  24th  of  June,  and  that  at  the 
festival  which  was  held  simultaneously  in  Boston  and 
Philadelphia  on  that  day,  the  act  of  PRICE  was  ratified 
by  the  Grand  Lodge  at  Boston,  and  FRANKLIN'S  com- 
mission accepted  by  the  brethren  assembled  in  Phila- 
delphia. 

The  Masonic  Fraternity  was  not  so  novel  at  this 
time  in  Philadelphia,  nor  its  members  so  obscure  as  to 
be  unknown  or  unnoticed ;  for  at  the  festival  of  St. 
John  the  Baptist,  in  1734,  when  FRANKLIN'S  commission 
was  accepted,  and  at  the  one  which  had  been  held  on 
the  same  day  the  year  before,  the  governor  of  the 
province,  the  mayor  of  the  city,  and  many  other  dis- 
tinguished citizens  were  present  as  members  or  guests. 
FRANKLIN  on  this  occasion  appointed  JOHN  CARP  his 
Deputy,  and  JAMES  HAMILTON  and  THOMAS  HOPKINSON 
his  "Wardens.  There  is  no  doubt  but  that  for  some 
years  previous  to  this  the  Masons  in  Philadelphia  had 
been  organized  as  a  body,  holding  annually  their  festi- 
vals and  electing  their  Grand  Master  without  written 
authority  from  the  ruling  Grand  Lodge  of  England  or 
any  of  its  dependencies,  but  by  virtue  of  what  had  been 
r1  Denied  the  immemorial  right  of  Masons.  Through 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 

FRANKLIN  they  may  liave  learned  of  the  new  regulations 
of  the  Order,  and  they  perhaps  instructed  him  to  take 
such  measures  as  would  justify  them  before  the  world 
in  the  regularity  of  their  organization.  They  had 
virtually  existed  as  a  Grand  Lodge  previous  to  FRANK- 
LIN'S commission,  and  under  it  they  no  doubt  exercised 
all  the  prerogatives,  and  assumed  the  dignity  of  a 
Grand  Body.  The  claim,  therefore,  that  FRANKLIN 
tvas  the  fiist  Master,  or  the  first  Grand  Master  in 
Pennsylvania,  can  only  mean  that  he  was  so  by  author- 
ity derived  from  the  Grand  Lodge  at  London,  which 
had,  in  1721,  assumed  authority  over  all  lodges  of 
Masons. 

From  the  correspondence  which  took  place  between 
FRANKLIN  and  the  Grand  Master  and  the  brethren  in 
Boston,  soon  after  he  became  connected  with  their 
authority,  we  give  the  following  letters  of  his  which 
have  been  preserved  : 

"  RIGHT  WORSHIPFUL  GRAND  MASTER,  AND  MOST  WORTHY  AND 
DEAR  BRETHREN — We  acknowledge  your  favor  of  the  23d  of 
October  past,  and  rejoice  that  the  Grand  Master  (whom 
God  bless)  hath  so  happily  recovered  from  his  late  indispo- 
sition, and  we  now  (glass  in  hand)  drink  to  the  establish- 
ment of  his  health,  and  the  prosperity  of  your  whole 
Lodge. 

"  We  have  seen  in  the  Boston  prints  an  article  of  news 
from  London,  importing,  that  at  a  Grand  Lodge  held  there 
in  August  last,  Mr.  PRICE'S  deputation  and  power  was  ex- 
tended over  all  America,  which  advice  we  hope  is  true,  and  we 
heartily  congratulate  him  thereupon.  And  though  this  has 
not  as  yet  been  regularly  signified  to  us  by  you,  yet,  giving 
credit  thereto^  we  think  it  our  duty  to  lay  before  your 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS.          289 

Lodge  what  we  apprehend  needful  to  be  done  for  us,  in 
order  to  promote  and  strengthen  the  interests  of  Masonry 
in  this  province  (which  seems  to  want  the  sanction  of  some 
authority  derived  from  home,  to  give  the  proceedings  and 
determinations  of  our  Lodge  their  due  weight) ;  to  wit :  a 
Deputation  or  Charter,  granted  by  the  Eight  Worshipful 
Mr.  PRICE,  by, virtue  of  his  commission  .from  Britain,  con- 
firming the  brethren  of  Pennsylvania  in  the  privileges  they 
at  present  enjoy,  of  holding  annually  their  Grand  Lodge, 
choosing  their  Grand  Master,  Wardens,  and  other  officers 
who  may  manage  all  affairs  relating  to  the  brethren  here, 
with  full  power  and  authority  according'  to  the  customs  and 
usages  of  Masons,  the  said  Grand  Master  of  Pennsylvania 
only  yielding  his  chair  when  the  Grand  Master  of  all 
America  shall  be  in  place.  This,  if  it  seem  good  and 
reasonable  to  you  to  grant,  will  not  only  be  extremely 
agreeable  to  us,  but  will  also,  we  are  confident,  conduce 
much  to  the  welfare,  establishment,  and  reputation  of 
Masonry  in  these  parts.  We  therefore  submit  it  to  your 
consideration ;  'and  as  we  hope  our  requestf  will  be  complied 
with,  we  desire  that  it  may  be  done  as  soon  as  possible,  and 
also  accompanied  with  a  copy  of  the  Right  Worsliipful 
Grand  Master's  first  Deputation,  and  of  the  instrument  by 
which  it  appears  to  be  enlarged,  as  above  mentioned,  wit- 
nessed by  your  Wardens,  and  signed  by  the  secretary,  for 
which  favor  this  Lodge  doubt  not  of  being  able  to  behave 
as  not  to  be  thought  ungrateful. 

"  We  are,  Right  Worshipful  Grand  Master,  and  Most 
Worthy  Brethren,  your  affectionate  brethren  and  obliged 
humble  servants, 

"  B.  FRANKLIN,  G.  M. 

"  Signed  at  the  request  of  the  Lodge. 

"  PHILADELPHIA,  November  2.8,  1734." 

13 


290          WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 

FRANKLIN  sent  with  this  letter  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Massachusetts,  the  following  private  note  to  Mr.  PRICE 
the  Grand  Master : 


"  DEAR  BROTHER  PRICE — I  am  heartily  glad  to  hear  01 
your  recovery.  I  hoped  to  have  seen  you  here  this  fall, 
agreeable  to  the  expectation  you  were  so  good  as  to  give 
mo  ;  but,  since  sickness  has  prevented  your  coming  while 
the  weather  was  moderate,  I  have  no  room  to  flatter  myself 
with  a  visit  from  you  before  spring,  when  a  deputation  from 
the  Brethren  here  will  have  an  opportunity  of  showing  how 
much  they  esteem  you.  I  beg  leave  to  recommend  their 
request  to  you,  and  to  inform  you  that  some  false  and  rebel 
brethren,  who  are  foreigners,  being  about  to  set  up  a  distinct 
Lodge,  in  opposition  to  the  old  and  true  brethren  here,  pre- 
tending to  make  Masons  for  a  bowl  of  punch  ;  and  the 
Craft  is  like  to  come  into  discstcem  among  us,  unless  the  true 
brethren  are  countenanced  and  distinguished  by  some  such 
special  authority  as  herein  desired.  I  entreat,  therefore, 
that  whatever  you  shall  think  proper  to  do  therein,  may  be 
sent  by  the  next  post,  if  possible,  or  the  next  following. 

"  I  am  your  affectionate  brother  and  humble  servant, 

"  B.  FRANKLIN,  G.  M.  of  Pennsylvania. 

"  p.  S. — If  more  of  the  Constitutions  are  wanted  among 
3rou,  please  hint  it  to  me." 

The  Constitutions  here  alluded  to,  were  a  reprint  of 
the  English  Constitutions  of  Masonry,  which  had  been 
collated  and  published  in  London  in  1723.  An  Ameri- 
can edition  of  this  work  was  printed  by  FRANKLIN 
in  Philadelphia,  in  1734,  and  it  was  the  first  Masonic 
book  ever  published  in  America.  It  was  a  small  quarto 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS.          291 

volume,  and  a  few  copies  still  exist  in  antiquarian  col- 
lections.* 

FRANKLIN  was  at  this  time  twenty-eight  years  of  age  ; 
and  while  he  diligently  pursued  his  business  as  a 
printer  and  stationer,  he  also  devoted  his  spare  mo- 
ments to  the  acquisition  of  useful  knowledge.  He  was 
not  a  recluse,  and  he  associated  with  him  in  his  literary 
pursuits  a  few  young  men  of  studious  habits  and  con- 
genial tastes,  who  formed  a  club  they  called  the  Junto. 
The  governing  rules  of  this  club  have  been  incorpo- 
rated into  the  Philosophical  Society  of  Philadelphia ; 
and  the  collection  of  books  they  formed,  was  the  nucleus 
of  the  present  magnificent  library  of  that  city. 

In  1735,  FRANKLIN  was  superseded  in  his  position  as 
Master,  or  Grand  Master  as  it  was  termed,  by  JAMES 
HAMILTON  his  Senior  Warden,  who  was  elected  in  his 
stead.  Freemasonry  in  Philadelphia,  although  it  ap- 
pears to  have  been  popular  at  this  time,  was  soon  after 
under  the  ban  of  public  suspicion  there,  and  FRANK- 
LIN'S connection  with  it  was  much  commented  on  by 
the  public  press  of  that  city.  It  appears  from  the  civil 
records  and  public  journals  of  that  day,  that  in  1737 
a  few  thoughtless  individuals  attempted  to  impose  on 
an  ignorant  young  man  and  persuade  him  that  by  sub- 
mitting to  some  ridiculous  ceremonies  he  might  be- 
come a  Mason.  He  submitted  to  all  they  required, 
and  was  by  them  invested  with  sundry  pretended  Ma- 

*  It  is  worthy  of  note  by  the  Mfcsonic  student,  that  the  first  written 
warrant  granted  in  America  by  Provincial  authority  was  to  FRANKLIN  ; 
the  first  American  Masonic  book  was  printed  by  him ;  and  the  oldest 
American  Masonic  letters  that  have  been  preserved,  were  written  by 
him. 


292  WASHINGTON'S   MASONIC   COMPEERS. 

sonic  signs,  and  told  he  had  taken  the  first  degree. 
The  principal  perpetrators  of  the  farce  appear  not  to 
have  been  Masons,  but  they  soon  after  communicated 
to  FRANKLIN  and  others  an  account  of  their  practical 
joke,  and  told  him  they  might  expect  to  be  saluted 
with  the  signs  they  had  given  to  the  young  man  when 
they  met  him.  FRANKLIN  did  not  approve  of  their  im- 
position, but  laughed  heartily  at  the  ridiculous  farce 
they  had  played,  and  thought  no  more  of  it.  Not  so 
with  the  active  parties  in  it;  for  they  determined  to 
farther  dupe  the  young  man,  and  for  this  purpose  in- 
duced him  to  take  a  second  degree,  in  which  they 
blindfolded  and  conducted  him  into  a  dark  cellar, 
where  one  of  the  party  was  to  exhibit  himself  to  him 
disguised  in  a  bull's  hide,  the  head  and  horns  of  which 
were  intended  to  represent  the  devil ;  while  the  others 
were  to  play  a  game  they  called  snap-dragon,  which 
consisted  of  picking  raisins  from  a  dish  of  burning 
fluid.  When  the  bandage  was  taken  from  the  young 
man's  eyes,  and  he  had  gazed  for  a  moment  on  the 
scene  before  him,  one  of  the  party  thoughtlessly  threw 
upon  him  the  pan  of  burning  fluid,  which  set  fire  to 
his  clothes,  and  so  burned  him  that  he  lingered  for 
but  three  days  and  then  died.  This  occurrence 
caused  great  excitement  in  Philadelphia,  and  the 
guilty  parties  were  arrested  .and  punished  for  man- 
slaughter. 

As  it  appeared  at  the  judicial  investigation,  that 
FRANKLIN  had  been  made  acquainted  with  the  first  out- 
rage on  the  young  man  after  its  perpetration,  although 
he  had  no  knowledge  that  a  second  attempt  was  to  be 
made,  and  disapproved  of  the  first,  many  ignorant 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEEES.          293 

or  excited  citizens,  knowing  his  Masonic  position, 
sought  to  cast  odium  on  him  and  the  Fraternity  of 
which  he  was  a  leading  member.  A  personal  attack 
was  also  made  on  the  character  of  FRANKLIN  by  a 
newspaper  in  Philadelphia,  accusing  him  of  conniving 
at  the  outrage.  This  was  promptly  denied  by  him, 
and  the  denial  was  verified  by  the  oaths  of  those  who 
were  acquainted  with  the  whole  affair.  The  Grand 
Lodge  also  deemed  it  its  duty  to  express  its  dis- 
approbation of  such  proceedings,  and  the  Grand  Offi- 
cers appeared  before  the  authorities  in  Philadelphia 
and  signed  the  following  declaration  : 


"  Pennsylvania,  ss. — Whereas  some  ill-disposed  persons 
in  this  city,  assuming  the  names  of  Freemasons,  have,  for 
some  years  past,  imposed  upon  several  well-meaning  peo- 
ple who  were  desirous  of  becoming  true  brethren,  persuad- 
ing them,  after  they  had  performed  certain  ridiculous  cere- 
monies, that  they  had  really  become  Freemasons  ;  and  have 
lately,  under  the  pretence  of  making  a  young  man  a  Mason, 
caused  his  death  by  purging1,  vomiting-,  burning1,  and  the 
terror  of  certain  diabolical,  horrid  rites  ;  it  is  therefore 
thought  proper,  for  preventing  such  impositions  for  the 
future,  and  to  avoid  any  unjust  aspersions  that  may  be 
thrown  on  this  ancient  and  honorable  Fraternity  on  this  ac- 
count, either  in  this  city  or  any  other  part  of  the  world,  to 
publish  this  advertisement  declaring  the  abhorrence  of  all 
true  brethren  of  such  practices  in  general,  and  their  igno- 
rance of  this  fact  in  particular,  and  that  the  persons  con- 
cerned in  this  wicked  action  are  not  of  our  society,  nor  of 
any  society  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  to  our  knowledge 
or  belief. 


294 


"  Signed  in  behalf  of  all  the  members  of  St.  John's  Lodge 
in  Philadelphia,  10th  day  of  June,  1737. 

"  THOS.  HOPKINSON,  G.  Master. 
"  WM.  PLUMSTED,  D.  G.  Master. 

"Jos.  SHIPPEN,    )  .... 

I  Wardens." 
11  HENRY  PRATT,  ) 

The  knowledge  of  the  outrage  that  had  been  perpe- 
trated in  Philadelphia  in  the  name  of  Freemasonry, 
and  the  attack  on  FRANKLIN'S  character,  soon  came  to 
his  parents  in  Boston,  and  his  mother,  with  true  ma- 
ternal feelings,  induced  his  father  to  write  to  him  on 
the  subject,  and  make  inquiries  respecting  the  society 
which  was  then  agitating  the  public  mind.  To  these 
inquiries  FRANKLIN  replied  under  date  of  April  13th, 
1738: 

"  As  to  the  Freemasons,  I  know  of  no  way  of  giving  my 
mother  a  better  account  of  them  than  she  seems  to  have  at 
present  ;  since  it  is  not  allowed  that  women  should  be  ad- 
mitted into  that  secret  socict}'.  She  has,  I  must  confess, 
on  that  account,  some  reason  to  be  displeased  with  it  ; 
but  for  any  thing  else,  I  must  entreat  her  to  suspend  her 
judgment  till  she  is  better  informed,  unless  she  will  believe 
me  when  I  assure  her,  that  they  are  in  general  a  very  harm- 
less sort  of  people,  and  have  no  principles  or  practices  that 
are  inconsistent  with  religion  and  good  manners." 

Although  the  excitement  had  run  so  high  in  Phila- 
delphia, that  during  the  trial  of  those  who  had  been 
engaged  in  duping  the  young  man  with  pretended  Ma- 
sonic degrees,  every  Mason  was  challenged  from  the 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS.  295 

jury-box,  yet  FRANKLIN'S  popularity  did  not  suffer.  He 
was  then  postmaster  of  the  city,  and  clerk  of  the  Pro- 
vincial '  Assembly,  and  he  continued  to  hold  these 
offices  for  many  years.  In  1747  he  was  elected  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Assembly,  and  held  the  office  by  re-election 
for  ten  years.  In  1749  the  old  authority  from  HENRY 
PEICE  to  FRANKLIN  in  1734  was  superseded  by  a  new 
warrant  to  him  from  THOMAS  OXNARD,  Provincial  Grand 
Master  of  all  North  America,  constituting  him  Provin- 
cial Grand  Master  of  Pennsylvania,  with  power  to 
charter  new  Lodges.  On  the  5th  of  September  of  this 
year,  FRANKLIN  accordingly  convened  the  brethren  by 
virtue  of  his  new  authority,  and  appointed  Dr.  THOMAS 
BOND  Deputy  Grand  Master ;  JOSEPH  SHIPPEN  and 
PHILIP  SYNG,  Grand  Wardens;  WILLIAM  PLUMSTED, 
Grand  Treasurer ;  and  DANIEL  BYLES,  Grand  Secre- 
tary. The  following  year  FRANKLIN  was  succeeded  as 
Grand  Master  by  WILLIAM  ALLEN,  the  Eecorder  of  the 
city  of  Philadelphia,  who  was  commissioned  direct  by 
the  Grand  Master  of  England. 

FRANKLIN  at  this  time  was  deeply  absorbed  in  phil- 
osophical investigations,  and  soon  after  was  able  to 
verify  his  belief  that  the  lightnings  and  thunder  of  the 
summer  cloud  were  but  electrical  phenomena.  The 
story  of  his  drawing  down  the  lightning  with  his  kite 
is  well  known ;  and  the  discovery  he  thereby  made  has 
rendered  his  name  immortal  in  the  annals  of  science. 
He  was  well  known  at  this  period  as  the  friend  and 
patron  of  popular  education  and  every  useful  art.  It 
was  not  apathy  and  indifference  on  the  part  of  the 
community  respecting  education  that  he  had  to  con- 
tend with  alone  ;  but  there  was  an  element  in  the  popu- 


WASHINGTON'S   MASONIC   COMPEERS. 

lation  of  Philadelphia  and  its  vicinity  that  regarded  all 
measures  for  the  greater  diffusion  of  knowledge,  as 
dangerous  innovations  on  the  established  customs  of 
society.  There  still  exists  a  correspondence  between 
one  CHRISTOPHER  SOWRS,  a  German  printer  in  German- 
town,  and  CONRAD  WEISER,  in  which  the  former  com- 
plains bitterly  of  the  efforts  of  FRANKLIN  and  the  Free- 
masons generally  to  establish  free- schools.  He  says  : 

"  The  people  who  are  the  promoters  of  the  free  schools, 
arc  Grand  Masters  and  Wardens  among  the  Freemasons, 
their  very  pillars." 

The  loss  of  old  Masonic  records  makes  it  impossible 
to  determine  the  lodge  membership  in  Philadelphia  at 
this  time,  but  enough  remains  to  show  that  it  embraced 
the  first  men  in  the  city. 

At  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  FRANKLIN  had 
reached  the  meridian  of  his  life,  being  forty-four  years 
of  age ;  but  the  sun  of  his  fame  was  still  in  the  ascend- 
ant, and  from  that  period  onward  until  it  passed 
from  our  sight  in  a  glowing  wrest,  its  blaze  seemed 
brighter  and  fuller.  From  the  time  when  he  was  first 
seen  a  forlorn  boy  in  the  streets  of  Philadelphia,  he 
had  been  steadily  gaining  strength  of  mind  and  public 
confidence,  until  his  services  were  almost  exclusively 
claimed  by  his  fellow-citizens.  In  1753  he  was  ap- 
pointed deputy  postmaster  of  all  the  British  colonies 
in  America,  and  the  same  year  a  commissioner  to  ne- 
gotiate a  treaty  with  the  Indians.  In  1754  he  was  a 
delegate  to  the  Congress  that  met  at  Albany  to  devise 
means  of  defence  against  the  French ;  and  in  this  body 
his  wisdom  and  sagacity  were  seen  in  the  recommen- 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS.          297 

dation  which  he  made  of  a  Union  of  the  colonies.  He 
rendered  important  aid  to  the'  British  commanders  in 
the  early  part  of  the  old  French  war,  but  was  soon 
after  sent  to  England  as  the  agent  of  Pennsylvania  and 
other  colonies.  There  he  was  greatly  caressed  and 
distinguished,  and  found  his  situation  widely  different 
from  what  it  was  when  he  entered  London  a  few  years 
before,  a  poor  journeyman  printer  :  for  now  he  was  ad- 
mitted into  the  presence  of  kings ;  and  the  Universities 
of  Edinburg  and  Oxford  conferred  on  him  the  degree 
of  Doctor  of  Laws  as  a  mark  of  their  appreciation  of 
his  scientific  attainments.  This  literary  degree  was 
not  the  first  he  had  received ;  for  the  college  at  Cam- 
bridge, in  Massachusetts,  had  before  conferred  on  him 
the  degree  of  Master  of  Arts.  He  also,  while  in  Lon- 
don, visited  the  Grand  Lodge  of  England ;  and  its 
records  show  that  he  was  honored  with  the  rank  of 
Provincial  Grand  Master  on  his  visit  to  that  body. 

He  returned  to  America  in  1762,  and  resumed  his 
seat  in  the  Provincial  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania,  but 
two  years  afterwards  he  was  sent  again  as  their  agent 
to  England.  He  remained  there  until  1775.  It  was 
during  this  period  that  the  disputes  between  the  colo- 
nies and  the  mother  country  assumed  their  utmost 
seriousness,  and  his  task  was  a  difficult  and  delicate 
one ;  but  so  faithfully  did  he  perform  it,  that  on  his 
return,  he  was  elected  a  delegate  from  Pennsylvania  to 
the  Continental  Congress,  and  the  following  year  had 
the  honor  of  signing  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 
During  the  whole  period  of  the  Revolution  he  was  con- 
tinually active  in  some  civil  capacity,  either  at  homo 
or  abroad.  Congress  sent  him  in  1776  a  commissioner 

13* 


298          WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 

to  the  court  of  France,  and  no  diplomatist  at  Versailles 
was  able  to  perform  his  duties  with  greater  ability. 
He  was  well  known  in  France  at  that  time  for  his 
varied  scientific  attainments,  and  his  plain  republican 
manners  rendered  him  a  dignitary  of  a  new  light. 

His  residence  was  continued  in  France  until  1785, 
and  during  this  time  he  held  intimate  Masonic  inter- 
course with  the  Masons  of  that  country,  and  became 
affiliated,  either  as  a  special  or  honorary  member,  with 
the  Grand  Orient  of  France.  He  was  also  presented 
by  his  French  brethren  with  a  medal,  of  which  the  fol- 
lowing description  is  given : 

"Diameter  one  inch  and  three-fifths.  Obverse — Fimr  bust 
of  FRAXKLIX.  Legend — 'BKXJAMIXIS  FKANKI.IX.'  Reverse — 
Masonic  emblems,  the  serpent's  ring',  carpenter's  square  and 
compass  ;  in  the  centre  a  triangle  and  the  sacred  Name  in 
Hebrew,  &c.  Legend — Leo.  Mac.  Fran,  a  Franklin.  M:  de 
la  L—  des  9  Soeurs  0.  de  Paris,  5778." 

When  in  1785  he  had  fulfilled  all  the  public  duties 
which  his  country  required  of  him  in  Europe,  and  was 
about  to  return  to  America,  his  Masonic  brethren  in 
France  bade  him  a  tender  adieu,  particularly  the  lodge 
at  Rouen.  When  he  arrived  in  Philadelphia  he  was 
received  by  his  fellow-citizens  with  public  testimonials 
of  their  gratitude  and  respect,  and  was  soon  after- 
wards elected  to  the  chief  executive  office  in  Penn- 
sylvania. He  was  then  in  his  eightieth  year,  mid 
might  weh1  have  claimed  a  rest  from  his  public  labors ; 
but  he  still  continued  for  three  years  to  give  all  his 
strength  of  body  and  mind  to  secure  the  fabric  of 
liberty  he  had  helped  to  erect.  For  this  purpose,  in 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS.          299 

1787  lie  permitted  himself  to  be  elected  a  member  of 
the  convention  that  framed  the  Federal  Constitution, 
and  his  master  hand  gave  to  that  instrument  many  of 
its  provisions. 

FBANKLIN'S  official  life  closed  in  1788,  for  his  great 
age  and  infirmities  rendered  him  unable  to  longer 
serve  his  country  in  a  public  capacity ;  but  amid  much 
suffering  he  survived  for  two  more  years,  and  died  at 
Philadelphia  on  the  17th  of  April,  1790,  in  the  eighty- 
fifth  year  of  his  age.  He  was  buried  on  the  21st,  in 
Christ  Church  yard  in  that  city,  and  more  than  twenty 
thousand  persons,  it  was  said,  attended  the  funeral. 
The  highest  dignitaries  of  the  State  were  present  on 
the  occasion,  and  both  the  State  and  National  Govern- 
ment decreed  that  badges  should  be  worn  in  token  of 
the  loss  all  had  sustained  in  the  death  of  so  great  a 
man.  It  has  been  asked  why  so  distinguished  a  Ma- 
son as  FRANKLIN  was  not  interred  with  Masonic  rites. 
The  reader  will  remember  that  his  Masonic  connection 
in  Philadelphia  had  been  with  the  so-called  Moderns, 
whose  organization  there  had  been  superseded,  during 
the  absence  of  FRANKLIN  in  Europe,  by  another  de- 
nomination of  Masons,  called  Ancients ;  and  at  his 
death,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  wrhich  he  had  been  the 
Grand  Master  was  extinct.  His  name,  however,  and 
his  virtues,  have  ever  been  kept  in  high  veneration  by 
Masons  throughout  the  world,  and  with  that  of  WASH- 
INGTON are  household  words  wherever  the  Craft  is 
found. 


WILLIAM  FRANKLIN, 


THE  LAST  OF  THE 'ROYAL  GOVERNORS  OF  NEW  JERSEY,  AND  GRANT 
SECRETARY  OF  THE  PROVINCIAL  GRAND  LODGE  OF  PENNSYLVANIA. 

WILLIAM  FRANKLIN,  the  last  colonial  governor  of  New 
Jersey,  was  born  at  Philadelphia  in  1731.  He  was  the 
son  of  Dr.  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN,  the  most  eminent  states- 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEEES.          301 

man,  philosopher,  and  Mason  of  Pennsylvania,  of  the 
last  century.  WILLIAM  was  his  first-born  and  only  son, 
and  his  father  doubtless  reared  him  with  paternal  care, 
and  felt  a  strong  desire  to  see  him  win  for  himself  dis- 
tinction. 

Of  his  youth  but  little  is  now  known.  He  is  said  to 
have  inherited  from  his  father  an  early  fondness  for 
books,  but  no  accounts  of  remarkable  attainments  in 
literature  have  been  handed  down  to  us.  His  father 
says  of  him,  in  1750  :  "  WILL,  is  now  nineteen  years  of 
age — a  tall,  proper  youth,  and  much  of  a  beau."  He 
had  a  desire,  in  his  youth,  to  connect  himself  with  a 
privateer  that  was  fitting  out  in  Philadelphia ;  but  in 
this  he  was  opposed  by  his  father,  wiio  soon  after  ob- 
tained for  him  a  situation  in  .the  provincial  troops,  in 
one  of  their  campaigns  to  the  northern  frontier,  and  in 
it  he  rose  to  the  rank  of  a  captain. 

On  his  return,  his  father's  social  and  political  posi- 
tion was  such  as  to  secure  for  him  the  appointment  of 
clerk  in  the  Colonial  Assembly  and  postmaster  of  the 
city  of  Philadelphia.  He  had  now  come  to  years  of 
manhood,  and  was  his  father's  companion  and  assistant 
in  his  scientific  pursuits.  He  also  became  'a  Mason 
about  this  time  in  the  old  Lodge  in  Philadelphia,  and 
was  soon  after  elected  its  Master.  In  1754  he  was  one 
of  the  Trustees  in  behalf  of  the  Fraternity  to  hold  the 
title  to  the  lot  and  building  in  that  city  which  was  used 
for  Masonic  purposes.  This  was  located  on  the  lot 
since  occupied  by  the  Pennsylvania  Bank ;  and  from 
the  circumstance  of  the  Masons'  Hall  having  been 
there,  the  alley  retains  the  name  of  Lodge  Alley  to  the 
present  time. 


302          WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 

The  Masonic  Fraternity  in  Philadelphia  at  that  time 
were  in  a  prosperous  condition  ;  and  the  banqueting- 
room  of  the  hall  they  had  erected  was  of  great  service 
to  the  citizens,  aside  from  its  Masonic  purposes.  Pub- 
lic meetings  were  often  held  in  it,  and  the  belles  and 
beaux  of  the  city  frequently  met  there  for  balls  and 
other  amusements.  There  were  three  Lodges  at  that 
time  in  Philadelphia,  presided  over  by  WILLIAM  ALLEN, 
the  Eecorder  of  the  city  and  chief-justice  of  the  prov- 
ince, as  Grand  Master.  On  the  completion  of  their 
Hall,  they  determined  to  celebrate  the  Feast  of  St. 
John  the  Baptist,  in  1755,  with  great  pomp  and  dis- 
play. 

They  accordingly  assembled  on  that  day  in  their 
Hall  on  Lodge  Alley,  and  clothed  themselves  for  a  pub- 
lic procession.  There  were  no  doubt  quaint  looks  cast 
by  some  of  the  old  inhabitants  of  the  Quaker  City,  as 
this  assembly  of  the  Brethren  gravely  passed  through 
their  streets,  with  their  singular  dress,  emblems,  and 
implements.  The  number  of  the  Brethren  present  has 
been  given  us  by  the  chroniclers  of  those  times  as  one 
hundred  and  twenty-seven.  There  were  wealth  and 
dignity  in  the  procession ;  for  the  governor  of  the 
province-  and  the  governor  of  New  Providence  were  in 
it  as  Masons,  as  well  as  many  officers  of  the  city  gov- 
ernment. These,  with  their  cocked  hats,  must  have 
contrasted  strongly  with  the  broad  brims  and  plain 
coats  of  some  backsliding  Quaker  Masons  who  were 
also  in  the  line.  In  the  usual  assemblages  in  Phila- 
delphia, the  Quaker  element  generally  had  the  prepon- 
derance ;  but  cocked  hats,  royal  wigs,  velvet  breeches, 
embroidered  coats,  silver  and  gold  knee  and  shoe 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEEES.          303 

buckles,  were  evidences  of  the  social  position  of  a  ma- 
jority of  the  members  that  day. 

To  make  the  procession  more  imposing,  it  was  fol- 
lowed by  the  empty  carriages  of  the  Grand  Master,  of 
the  governor,  and  other  distinguished  Brethren — their 
owners  being  in  the  line  as  Masons.  There  was  also  a 
band  of  music  in  attendance,  which  belonged  to  a  Brit- 
ish regiment  then  stationed  in  the  city.  Ifc  was  a  great 
novelty  at  that  day  to  see  such  a  gorgeous  parade  of 
Masons  ;  and  as  they  passed  up  Second-street,  on  their 
way  to  the  church,  when  opposite  Market,  a  salute 
from  some  cannon  in  a  vessel  on  the  river  must  have 
awakened  from  his  reveries  the  drowsiest  Quaker  in  the 
city.  At  the  church,  Dr.  JENNEY,  the  rector  of  Christ 
Church,  offered  prayers,  and  the  Rev.  Brother  Dr. 
WILLIAM  SMITH,  the  provost  of  the  college,  preached  a 
sermon  from  the  text,  "  Love  the  Brotherhood,  fear 
God,  and  honor  the  king."  It  was  a  goodly  custom  of 
our  Brethren  of  that  day  to  thus  repair  to  the  church 
to  testify  their  respect  for  religion  and  enjoy  its  teach- 
ings. WASHINGTON  in  after-years  often  did  the  same, 
and  with  his  Masonic  brethren  publicly  bent  the  knee 
at  the  religious  altars  of  our  country,  clothed  in  his 
Masonic  costume. 

After  the  services  of  the  church  were  closed,  the 
procession  was  re-formed,  and  returned  to  the  Lodge- 
room.  As  it  passed  through  the  streets,  the  cannon 
again  fired  their  salute,  and  the  populace  again  gazed 
on  the  drawn  swords  of  the  Tylers  and  the  strange 
badges  and  mystic  implements  of  the  Fraternity,  as, 
with  measured  steps  to  the  band's  playing  the  tune  of 
the  "  Entered  Apprentice  Song,"  they  marched  to 


304.          WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 

their  Hall.  It  was  befitting  the  occasion  that  the  cer- 
emonies should  be  crowned  with  a  feast ;  and  accord- 
ingly, at  one  o'clock,  they  repaired  to  their  banqueting 
room.  Merry  things  were  there  said,  and  entertaining 
songs  sung ;  for  such  were  the  Masonic  customs  of 
those  good  old  days.  There  were  pledges,  too,  of  last- 
ing friendship  drank,  and  friendly  interchanges  of  sen- 
timent made,  between  cocked  hats  and  broad  brims, 
while  seated  there.  The  regular  toasts  on  the  occasion 
were  : 

"  1st.  The  King  and  the  Craft. 

"  2d.  The  Grand  Master  of  England. 

"  3d.  Our  Brother  FRANCIS,  Emperor  of  Germany. 

"  4th.  The  Grand  Master  of  Pennsylvania. 

"  5th.  Our  Brother,  his  Honor  the  Governor  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. 

"  6th.  Our  Brother,  his  Excellency  JOHN  TINKER,  Esq.^ 
Governor  of  Providence,  returning  him  thanks  for  his  kind 
visit. 

"  7th.  The  Grand  Master  of  Scotland. 

"  8th.  The  Grand  Master  of  Ireland. 

"  9th.  The  several  Provincial  Grand  Masters  of  North 
America  and  the  West  India  Islands. 

"  10th.   All  charitable  Masons. 

"  llth.  All  true  and  faithful  Masons,  wheresoever  dis- 
persed or  distressed,  throughout  the  globe. 

"  12th.  The  Arts  and  Sciences. 

"  13th.  General  BRADDOCK,  and  success  to  his  Majesty's 
forces. 

"  14th.  Prosperity  to  Pennsylvania,  and  a  happy  union  of 
his  Majesty's  colonies." 

The  ceremonies  of  the  day  closed  at  five  o'clock  iu 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS.          305 

the  afternoon,  and  the  Fraternity  returned  to  their 
homes,  no  doubt  well  pleased  with,  the  inauguration  of 
their  new  Hall.  From  the  position  held  in  the  Frater- 
nity at  that  time  by  WILLIAM  FRANKLIN,  he  was  doubt- 
less present  on  the  occasion,  and  one  of  the  partici- 
pants in  the  ceremonies.  During  the  same  year  he 
accompanied  his  father,  with  some  troops  under  his 
command,  to  build  some  forts  on  the  frontiers  of  Penn- 
sylvania. 

In  1757,  his  father  was  appointed  by  the  colony  its 
agent  in  London,  and  he  sailed  with  him  for  England. 
He  seems  to  have  made  a  pleasing  impression  upon 
his  new  acquaintances  in  London ;  for  one  of  them, 
Mr.  STRAHAN,  who  was  a  man  of  talent  and  discern- 
ment, and  a  friend  of  his  father's,  thus  wrote  to  his 
mother  soon  after  his  arrival  in  England  : 

"  Your  son  I  really  think  one  of  the  prettiest  young 
gentlemen  I  ever  knew  from  America.  He  seems  to  me 
to  have  a  solidity  of  judgment  not  very  often  to  be  met  with 
in  one  of  his  years.  This,  with  the  daily  opportunity  he  has 
of  improving  himself  in  the  company  of  his  father — who  is 
at  the  same  time  his  friend,  his  brother,  his  intimate  and 
easy  companion — affords  an  agreeable  prospect  that  your 
husband's  virtues  and  usefulness  to  his  country  may  be  pro- 
longed beyond  the  date  of  his  own  life." 

While  in  England  young  FRANKLIN  studied  law  in  the 
Middle  Temple,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  Both 
father  and  son  were  treated  with  much  distinction  by 
those  of  the  highest  rank  in  civil  and  social  life.  The 
flame  of  Dr.  FRANKLIN'S  genius  as  a  philosopher  had 
cast  its  light  across  the  Atlantic  ;  and  his  fame  as  a 
statesman  was  even  then  being  built  by  the  wise  counsels 


306          WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 

he  gave  to  the  ministerial  powers  concerning  the  gov- 
ernment of  their  colonial  dependencies.  Both  father 
and  son,  too,  were  treated  with  marked  distinction  by 
the  Masonic  Fraternity  in  England,  and  on  visiting  the 
Grand  Lodge  in  London  in  November,  1760,  both 
were  honored  according  to  their  rank  in  Pennsylvania, 
— the  Doctor  as  Provincial  Grand  Master,  and  WIL- 
LIAM as  Grand  Secretary, — an  office  which  he  had  held 
in  the  Grand  Lodge  at  Philadelphia ;  and  their  names 
as  visitors  stand  duly  recorded  as  such  on  the  Grand 
Lodge  records  in  London.  He  also  travelled  with  his 
father  through  England,  Scotland,  Flanders,  and  Hol- 
land, and  enjoyed  the  literary  and  scientific  society 
that  sought  in  all  places  intercourse  with  the  distin- 
guished philosopher  from  the  new  world.  He  seems, 
too,  to  have  profited  by  such  advantages ;  for  when  the 
University  at  Oxford  conferred  on  his  father  in  1762 
the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws,  it  also  thought  the 
son  worthy  of  that  of  Master  of  Arts,  and  consequently 
conferred  it  upon  him.  During  the  same  year,  after 
undergoing  a  close  examination  by  Lord  HALIFAX,  the 
minister  of  American  affairs,  more  close  perhaps  on 
account  of  his  colonial  birth  and  youth,  he  was  ap- 
pointed by  the  king  his  representative  as  royal  govern- 
or of  New  Jersey.  It  was  an  honor  rarely,  if  ever, 
before  conferred  on  a  native-born  American,  and  more 
complimentary  from  its  having  been  conferred  without 
any  request  from  his  father.  He  also  married  about 
this  time  a  Miss  ELIZABETH  DOWNS,  and  brought  her 
with  him  to  America,  where  he  arrived  in  February, 
1763. 

Governor  FKANKLIN  was  at  that  time  thirty -two  years 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS.          307 

of  age.  No  native-born  citizen  in  America  held  a 
better  position.  Of  WASHINGTON  lie  was  about  one 
year  the  senior  ;  had  served  like  him  in  the  provincial 
wars,  and  like  him  had  enrolled  himself  with  the  Ma- 
sonic brotherhood  as  soon  as  he  came  to  manhood.  But 
the  similitude  did  not  extend  farther.  WASHINGTON  had 
been  from  his  boyhood  an  orphan — a  widow's  son; 
while  WILLIAM  FRANKLIN  had  grown  under  his  father's 
shadow.  WASHINGTON  had  retired  from  the  army  to 
his  farm  on  the  return  of  peace  ;  while  FEANKLIN  had 
gained  the  smiles  of  royalty  in  London,  and  had  borne 
back  to  America  a  commission  as  royal  governor  of 
New  Jersey,  and  was  honored  as  the  representative  of 
his  sovereign  in  that  province. 

Governor  FEANKLIN  reached  Philadelphia  on  the 
19th  of  February,  1763,  and  he  started  for  Perth  Am- 
boy,  in  New  Jersey,  on  the  24th,  and  arrived  there  at 
the  end  of  the  second  day.  It  was  midwinter,  and  he 
was  escorted  to  the  seat  of  the  colonial  government  by  a 
troop  of  horse,  and  by  the  citizens  in  sleighs,  and  there 
received  by  the  former  governor  and  the  members  of 
his  council.  The  weather  was  intensely  cold;  but  a 
chronicler  of  that  day  says,  he  was  inducted  into  his 
office  "  with  as  much  decency  and  good  decorum  as 
the  severity  of  the  season  could  possibly  admit  of." 
A  day  or  two  afterwards  he  went  to  Burlington  from 
Amboy,  and  published  his  commission  there  also,  ac- 
cording to  the  custom  of  the  province,  these  having  been 
the  early  seats  of  government  in  East  and  West  Jersey. 

It  had  been  the  custom  of  the  royal  governors  to 
reside  at  Amboy,  but  FEANKLIN  fixed  his  residence  in 
Burlington — perhaps  from  its  being  nearer  Philadel- 


308 

phia,  the  residence  of  his  friends.  He  resided  in  this 
"West  Jersey  capital  until  1774,  a  period  of  eleven  years, 
when  he  removed  to  the  old  East  Jersey  seat  of  colonial 
government  at  Amboy.  On  his  leaving  Burlington,  the 
corporation  of  that  city  gave  him  a  public  entertain- 
ment and  presented  him  a  farewell  address,  expressing 
their  regard  for  him,  regretting  his  departure,  and  thank- 
ing him  for  his  courtesy  and  kind  deportment  during 
his  residence  with  them. 

Governor  FRANKLIN  was  at  this  time  popular  with 
the  people  of  New  Jersey ;  but  the  vexatious  measures 
of  the  British  ministry  began  to  excite  that  abhorrence 
hi  all  the  colonies,  which  soon 'led  to  their  separation 
from  the  mother  government.  In  his  administration 
FRANKLIN  appears  to  have  been  mild  and  conciliatory 
with  the  people,  yet  firm  in  his  maintenance  of  the 
royal  right  of  the  king  to  govern  his  colonies.  Dr. 
FRANKLIN  was  then  in  England  as  the  colonial  agent, 
and  he  wrote  to  his  son  endeavoring  to  persuade  him 
to  take  the  American  side  of  the  controversy,  and  with- 
draw from  his  advocacy  of  the  royal  cause.  He  also 
visited  Amboy  on  his  return  to  America  in  1775  to 
urge  him  to  unite  his  fortunes  with  the  patriot  cause ; 
but  Governor  FRANKLIN  was  firm,  and  each  failed  to 
convince  the  other  of  the  impropriety  of  his  course. 
Their  conversations  were  perhaps  too  warm  for  con- 
tinued harmonious  intercourse,  and  both  father  and 
son  became  so  alienated  in  their  feelings,  that  when 
they  separated,  it  was  not  to  meet  again  till  the  im- 
pending American  conflict  was  over,  and  the  last  royal 
governor  of  New  Jersey  was  a  fugitive  from  his  people, 
and  a  pensioner  in  a  foreign  land. 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEEES.          309 

It  is  curious,  sometimes,  to  take  a  retrospect  of  tlie 
past,  and  retrace  the  pathway  of  individuals  on  the 
ground-floor  of  human  life.  Half  a  century  before,  Dr. 
FBANKLIN,  then  a  poor  unknown  boy  in  search  of  a 
place  where  he  might  earn  his  daily  bread,  had  passed 
a  lonely  and  feverish  night  in  the  same  ancient  city. 
He  had  left  it  on  foot  to  pursue  his  journey  through  a 
province  where  he  was  to  all  a  friendless  stranger,  and 
subjected  to  injurious  suspicions  of  vagrancy.  Now, 
again,  he  had  come  from  his  sojourn  in  a  foreign  land, 
where  he  had  been  honored  by  the  most  distinguished 
statesmen  and  men  of  science  as  a  luminary  of  the  age, 
to  confer  with  his  son,  who  was  the  royal  representa- 
tive in  the  very  land  where,  when  a  boy,  his  own  foot- 
sore pathway  had  been  taken. 

The  tide  of  popular  sentiment  in  New  Jersey  was 
now  fast  setting  in  the  channel  of  Liberty;  and  al- 
though no  open  resistance  was  at  first  made  to  Gov- 
ernor FEANKLIN'S  authority,  yet  when  he  refused  to  call 
the  Colonial  Assembly  together  to  appoint  delegates 
to  the  Continental  Congress  in  Philadelphia  in  1774, 
the  people  of  the  colony  met  by  convention  and  chose 
representatives  themselves  to  that  body.  In  Novem- 
ber.of  1775  he  convened  the  old  Colonial  Assembly  for 
the  last  time  ;  and  although  he  prorogued  it  on  the 
6th  of  December,  to  meet  again  on  the  3d  of  January, 
1776,  it  nev,pr  reassembled;  but  an  independent  legis- 
lature met  a  few  months  later,  and  resolved  that  the 
authority  of  Governor  FKANKLIN  should  no  longer  be 
obeyed,  and  as  he  had  showed  himself  an  enemy  to  his 
country,  his  person  should  be  secured.  This  was  ac- 
cordingly done,  and  under  an  order  from  the  Conti- 


310          WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 

nental  Congress  at  Philadelpliia,  the  deposed  govern* 
or  was,  about  midsummer  in  1776,  sent  under  guard 
to  Governor  TRUMBULL  in  Connecticut,  by  whom  he 
was  kept  a  prisoner  until  1778,  when  he  was  exchanged 
for  an  American  officer  (Brigadier-General  THOMPSON) 
then  in  possession  of  the  British,  and  FRANKLIN  sought 
protection  under  the  wing  of  the  British  army  in  the 
city  of  New  York. 

When  he  left  New  Jersey  a  prisoner  in  1776,  his  wife 
remained  in  Amboy,  and  he  never  saw  her  more.  She 
was  allowed  to  seek  British  protection  in  New  York, 
where  she  died  on  the  28th  of  July,  1778,  -while  he  was 
yet  in  Connecticut.  He  loved  her  tenderly;  and  ten 
years  later,  when  the  war  was  over,  he  caused  a  tablet 
to  be  placed  to  her  memory  in  the  chancel  of  St.  Paul's 
Church  in  New  York  where  she  was  buried,  with  a 
mournfully  elegant  inscription,  which  closed  by  saying 
that  it  was  erected  "  by  him  who  knew  her  worth,  and 
still  laments  her  loss." 

Governor  FRANKLIN  remained  in  New  York  nearly 
four  years,  where  he  was  the  president  of  a  band  of 
associated  loyalists  who  were  the  most  virulent  enemies 
of  all  Americans  who  took  part  against  the  British  au- 
thority; but  in  August,  1782,  he  sailed  for  England, 
and  never  more  visited  his  native  land.  He  received 
from  the  British  government  eighteen  hundred  pounds 
in  consideration  of  his  personal  losses  in  support  of  the 
crown,  and  an  annual  pension  of  eight  hundred  pounds 
for  life.  After  leaving  America  he  married  again ;  the 
lady  being  a  native  of  Ireland.  He  had  one  son, 
WM.  TEMPLE  FRANKLIN,  and  died  November  17,  1813, 
aged  eighty-two  years. 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS.          311 

During  the  whole  of  the  Revolutionary  "War  there 
was  110  intercourse  between  Dr.  FKANKLIN  and  his  son, 
and  their  mutual  estrangement  continued  long  after- 
wards, and  probably  was  never  forgotten ;  for  the 
Doctor  left  him  but  a  small  part  of  his  estate,  saying 
in  his  will  : 

"  The  part  lie  acted  against  me  in  the  late  war,  which  is 
of  public  notoriety,  will  account  for  my  leaving  him  no 
more  of  an  estate  he  endeavored  to  deprive  me  of." 

He  had,  however,  called  upon  his  son  in  England  on 
his  return  from  France  in  1785,  and  some  correspond- 
ence took  place  between  them  after  the  war.  But 
the  Doctor  seems  to  have  still  regarded  him  not  only 
as  an  alien  to  his  country,  but  to  himself;  for  in  a  letter 
written  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  BYLES,  of  Boston,  January  1, 
1788,  he  thus  speaks  of  him,  after  adverting  to  his 
daughter,  who  continued  with  him  in  Philadelphia  : 

"  My  son  is  estranged  from  me  by  the  part  he  took  in  the 
late  war,  and  keeps  aloof,  residing  in  England,  whose  cause 
he  espoused,  whereby  the  old  proverb  is  exemplified  : 

"  '  My  son  is  my  son  till  he  gets  him  a  wife, 

But  my  daughter  is  my  daughter  all  the  days  of  her  life.' " 


GENERAL  DAVID  WOOSTER, 

AN    OFFICER    OF   THE   REVOLUTION,  AND  MASTER    OF   THE    FIRST 
LODGE    IN    CONNECTICUT. 

GENERAL  DAVID  WOOSTER,  whose  name  is  familiar  to 
every  American  citizen  as  a  martyr  to  liberty  in  the 
war  of  the  Revolution,  was  born  in  Stratford,  Connecti- 
cut, March  2, 1710-11  (old  style),  and  was  the  youngest 
of  six  children.  He  was  educated  in  the  Puritan  prin- 
ciples of  New  England,  and  after  he  came  to  manhood 
entered  Yale  College,  where  he  graduated  in  1738,  in 
the  twenty-eighth  year  of  his  age. 


COMPEERS.  313 

In  1741  the  first  war-vessel  of  Connecticut  was  fitted 
out  at  Middletown,  to  guard  the  coasts  of  New  Eng- 
land against  the  Spanish  and  other  hostile  vessels  that 
were  preying  upon  the  infant  commerce  of  the  colonies, 
and  DAVID  WOOSTER  was  its  first-lieutenant,  and  the 
following  year  its  captain.  His  service  in  the  first 
naval  office  in  Connecticut  was  not  of  long  continuance  ; 
for  soon  after,  war  commenced  between  France  and 
England,  and  in  1745  he  went  as  captain  of  a  company 
of  Connecticut  militia,  under  Colonel  PEPPERELL,  in  the 
New  England  expedition  against  Louisburg. 

He  had  previously  settled  in  New  Haven,  where  he 
married  a  Miss  MARY  CLAP,  the  daughter  of  President 
CLAP  of  Yale  College,  and  in  a  quiet  home  he  had 
purchased,  was  enjoying  his  honeymoon  when  called  to 
go  on  this  Louisburg  expedition.  The  spirit  of  New 
England,  at  this  period,  had  in  it  as  much  religious 
fanaticism  as  patriotic  regard  for  justice  and  national 
honor,  and  military  ardor  was  much  warmed  by  sec- 
tarian zeal  in  this  expedition.  Banners  were  borne 
with  religious  mottoes,  and  a  hatchet,  which  had  been 
consecrated  for  the  occasion,  was  carried  on  a  Chap- 
lain's shoulder  to  hew  down  the  images  in  the  Papal 
churches  of  the  devoted  city  against  which  the  expe- 
dition was  undertaken.  The  incidents  of  the  expedi- 
tion are  well  known  in  history,  and  give  a  romance  to 
many  of  its  pages.  One  of  them  is  connected  with  the 
name  of  Captain  WOOSTER,  which  serves  well  to  illus- 
trate the  spirit  of  the  times,  and  shows  with  what  care 
he  watched  the  well-being  of  those  under  his  command. 
A  British  captain  had  ventured  to  strike  with  his  rattan 
one  of  WOOSTER'S  men,  who  was  a  freeholder  and  a 

14 


314:          WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 

church  member.  WOOSTER  was  indignant  that  a  soldier 
of  such  claims  to  consideration  should  receive  a  blow, 
and  remonstrated  with  the  British  officer  for  thus 
abusing  his  man.  The  foreign  captain  resented  his 
interference,  and  drew  his  sword  upon  him.  But  he  at 
once  disarmed  him,  and  compelled  him  to  ask  pardon 
of  the  Connecticut  soldier,  and  promise  never  again  to 
disgrace  with  a  blow  a  soldier  in  the  service.  This  act 
endeared  Captain  WOOSTEB  to  his  men,  and  gained  him 
the  applause  of  the  provincial  army. 

At  the  close  of  this  expedition  he  was  sent  in  charge 
of  a  cartel  ship  to  France,  but  was  not  permitted  to 
land  in  that  kingdom,  and  went  with  his  ship  to  Lon- 
don. He  was  received  there  with  marked  distinction, 
and  honored  with  a  captain's  commission  in  the  regular 
service.  He  returned  soon  afterwards  to  America,  and 
at  this  period  our  earliest  records  of  his  Masonic  life 
commence.  It  is  probable  that  he  was  made  a  Mason 
while  in  England.  Lord  CRANSTON  was  at  that  time 
Grand  Master  in  England,  and  upon  the  acquisition  of 
Louisburg  by  the  British  crown,  he  granted  a  Deputa- 
tion to  Captain  CUMMINS  to  establish  a  Provincial  Grand 
Lodge  there. 

Soon  after  Captain  WOOSTER  returned  to  New  Haven 
he  received  a  warrant  from  THOMAS  OXNARD,  Provincial 
Grand  Master  of  Massachusetts,  to  establish  a  Lodge 
in  that  city.  It  bore  date  November  12,  1750.  It  was 
the  first  Warranted  Lodge  in  Connecticut,  and  the 
seventh  in  New  England ;  four  having  previously  been 
organized  in  Boston,  one  in  Portsmouth,  New  Hamp- 
shire, and  one  in  Newport,  Rhode  Island.  A  warrant 
also  granted  for  a  Lodge  in  Annapolis,  Maryland, 


WASHINGTON'S    MASONIC    COMPEERS.  315 

by  THOMAS  OXNARD,  about  the  same  date  as  that  in  New 
Haven.  The  Lodge  organized  by  DAVID  WOOSTER  had 
at  first  but  six  members — viz. :  DAVID  WOOSTER,  Master ; 
SAMUEL  MANSFIELD  and  JOHN  ELIOT,  Wardens;  and 
NATHAN  WHITING,  ELIHU  LYMAN,  and  JEHIEL  TUTTLE, 
members.  Its  first  meeting  was  in  December,  1750. 
The  Lodge  was  called  Hiram  Lodge,  and  still  exists  by 
that  name  as  Lodge  No.  1  of  Connecticut. 

The  hollow  peace  between  France  and  England  was 
of  short  duration,  and  in  1756  WOOSTER  was  again 
called  to  take  the  command  of  Connecticut  militia,  with 
the  rank  of  colonel.  This  contest  is  known  in  history 
as  the  old  French  and  Indian  war,  and  he  served  each 
year  in  its  campaigns,  from  1756  to  1760,  and  rose  to 
the  rank  of  a  brigadier-general.  On  retiring  again 
from  military  service,  he  returned  to  New  Haven  as  a 
half-pay  officer  of  the  regular  British  army,  and  was 
appointed  revenue  collector  of  the  port  of  his  city. 
He  also  engaged  successfully  in  mercantile  pursuits, 
and  led  a  life  of  domestic  felicity. 

Again  the  war  of  the  Revolution  found  him  as  ready 
to  draw  his  sword  in  defence  of  the  colonies  against 
the  usurpations  of  England,  as  he  had  been  to  repel 
the  invasions  of  Spain  or  France.  His  commission 
and  his  half-pay  in  the  British  army  were  at  once  re- 
linquished, his  collectorship  of  the  port  resigned,  and 
when  the  troops  of  the  colony  were  organized,  he  was 
invested  with  their  command,  with  his  former  rank  as 
brigadier-general.  It  is  related  of  him  that  when  his 
regiment  was  prepared  to  leave  New  Haven  for  the 
headquarters  of  the  army,  he  marched  it  to  the  church- 
yard green,  where  his  men  stood  in  their  ranks  with 


316         WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 

tlieir  knapsacks  on  their  backs,  and  their  muskets  in 
their  hands,  while  he  sent  for  his  pastor,  the  Kev.  JON- 
ATHAN EDWARDS,  to  come  and  pray  with  them,  and  give 
them  a  parting  blessing.  He  then  conducted  his  men 
into  the  church  to  await  his  pastor's- coming.  He  was 
absent  from  home,  and  when  this  became  known  to 
General  WOOSTER,  he  stepped  into  the  deacon's  seat  in 
front  of  the  pulpit,  and  calling  on  his  men  to  join  him 
in  prayer,  led  their  devotions  with  the  fervent  zeal  of 
an  apostle.  So  pathetically  and  so  eloquently  did  he 
plead  for  his  beloved  country,  for  himself  and  the  men 
under  his  command,  and  for  the  families  they  left  be- 
hind them,  that  it  affected  all,  and  drew  tears  from 
many  eyes.  How  true  to  the  first  sublime  lesson  in 
Masonry,  which  teaches  us  at  the  commencement  of  all 
laudable  undertakings  to  implore  the  aid  and  blessing 
of  God,  was  his  act  on  this  occasion  ! 

The  first  military  service  of  General  WOOSTER  during 
the  Revolution,  was  in  guarding  New  York.  In  the 
spring  of  1776,  he  was  sent  in  the  expedition  to  Canada ; 
and  during  the  following  winter  and  spring  he  was  in 
command  in  his  own  State,  guarding  it  from  the  attacks 
of  the  British,  who  lay  at  New  York.  When,  in  April 
of  1777,  Governor  TRYON  made  an  incursion  on  Dan- 
bury,  he  led  a  body  of  militia  in  an  attack  on  the  in- 
vaders at  Eidgefield,  and  fell  mortally  wounded  at  the 
head  of  his  forces,  on  the  27th  of  that  month.  His 
wound  was  by  a  musket-ball  in  his  spine,  and  he  was 
borne  to  Danbury,  where  he  expired  on  the  2d  of  May, 
at  the  age  of  sixty-seven  years,  and  was  interred  in  the 
public  burial-ground  of  that  town.  Upon  learning  of 
his  death,  Congress  voted  that  a  monument  should  be 


COMPEEES.  317 

erected  to  his  memory,  but  it  was  not  done,  and  for 
nearly  fourscore  years  no  permanent  memorial  marked 
liis  grave.  The  legislature  of  his  native  State,  in 
whose  defence  he  died,  however,  resolved  to  perform 
this  long  neglected  duty,  in  which  they  were  joined  by 
the  Grand  Lodge  of  Connecticut,  and  the  corner-stone 
of  a  befitting  monument  over  his  grave  was  laid  by  the 
Grand  Master  of  the  State,  on  the  27th  of  April,  1854, 
according  to  the  ancient  ceremonies  of  the  Fraternity. 
Among  the  deposits  under  this  stone  was  the  identical 
bullet  by  which  General  WOOSTEE  was  slain.  Above 
this  stone,  a  monument,  beautifully  wrought  with  civic 
and  Masonic  emblems  and  inscriptions,  now  rises.  It 
was  well  thus  to  mark  his  grave  ;  but  his  deeds  are  his 
true  monument, — lasting  as  the  granite  hills  of  New 
England,  from  which  the  craftsmen  wrought  the  tower- 
ing shaft  that  rises  over  his  dust. 

THOMAS  WOOSTEE,  the  only  son  of  General  WOOSTEE, 
was  also  a  Mason.  He  was  initiated  in  Hiram  Lodge, 
April  14,  1777,  a  few  days  previous  to  his  father's 
death.  He  was  then  about  twenty-five  years  of  age. 
Before  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  the  Ma- 
sonic brethren  in  Colchester,  Connecticut,  obtained  a 
warrant  from  the  Massachusetts  Grand  Lodge  for  a 
Lodge  in  that  town,  which  they  denominated  Wooster 
Lodge.  It  bore  date  January  12,  1781.  A  second 
Lodge,  bearing  that  name,  was  also  chartered  by  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Connecticut,  a  few  years  ago,  in  New 
Haven.  The  names  of  WAEBEN,  MONTGOMEEY,  and 
WOOSTEE  became  a  standing  Masonic  toast  during  the 
war,  commemorative  of  their  virtues  as  patriot  Masons, 
who  fell  early  in  their  country's  defence. 


PIERPONT  EDWARDS, 

THE    FIRST   GRAND   MASTER    OF    CONNECTICUT. 

PIERPONT  EDWARDS,  the  first  Grand  Master  of  Masons 
in  Connecticut,  was  born  in  Northampton,  Massachu- 
setts, in  1750.  His  father  was  the  Kev.  JONATHAN  ED- 
WARDS, who  afterwards  became  president  of  the  college 
in  Princeton,  New  Jersey,  and  his  mother  was  a 
daughter  of  the  Rev.  JAMES  PIERPONT  of  New  Haven. 
The  memory  of  both  has  been  preserved  for  their 
piety  and  talents.  A  few  weeks  after  the  birth  of  their 
son  PIERPONT,  who  is  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  Mr. 
EDWARDS  was  dismissed  from  his  pastoral  charge  of 
the  church  in  Northampton,  and  soon  after  removed  to 
Stockbridge,  in  the  same  State,  as  a  missionary  to  the 
Stockbridge  Indians.  He  remained  there  for  six  years  ; 
and  the  only  school  in  the  vicinity  was  composed  of 
both  Indian  children  and  those  of  white  parentage. 
The  constant  association  of  these  young  urchins  to- 
gether in  their  studies  and  their  sports,  rendered  many 
of  them  equally  fluent  in  the  native  language  of  each 
other.  The  elder  brother  of  PIERPONT,  who  was  six 
years  his  senior,  was  said  by  the  natives  to  "  speak  as 
plain  as  an  Indian."  Surrounded  by  such  circum- 
stances, young  PIERPONT  learned  to  lisp  his  early  wants 
as  readily  in  Indian  as  in  his  mother  tongue,  but  we 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS.          319 

know  not  whether  he  retained  a  knowledge  of  that 
dialect  when  he  came  to  manhood.  His  brother  after- 
wards went  to  reside  with  one  of  the  Western  tribes  in 
New  York,  to  improve  in  his  knowledge  of  their  lan- 
guage and  customs,  with  a  view  on  his  father's  part  of 
his  becoming  a  missionary  among  them  when  of  suit- 
able age.  He,  however,  chose  a  different  field  of  use- 
fulness for  himself,  and  became  afterwards  president 
of  Union  College  in  Schenectady. 

When  PIEKPONT  was  about  six  years  of  ago,  his 
father  left  his  residence  in  Stockbridge  and  removed  to 
Princeton,  New  Jersey,  where  vhe  had  been  elected 
president  of  the  college.  His  labors  there,  however, 
were  short,  for  in  less  than  a  year  he  died ;  and  his 
amiable  widow's  death  soon  followed,  and  the  future 
Grand  Master  of  Connecticut  was  left  a  full  orphan 
before  he  was  eight  years  old.  Though  thus  early  be- 
reft of  his  parents,  he  received  the  fostering  care  of 
kind  friends ;  was  educated,  we  believe,  at  Yale,  and  set- 
tled in  New  Haven  as  an  attorney  at  law.  In  that  city, 
at  the  age  of  twenty-five  years,  he  was  made  a  Mason 
in  old  Hiram  Lodge.  His  initiation  was  on  the  28th 
day  of  December,  1775.  It  was  the  oldest  Lodge  in 
the  State,  and  he  was  subsequently  elected  its  Master. 

About  the  close  of  the  Revolution  in  1783,  thirteen 
of  the  old  Lodges  in  Connecticut  met  in  Convention  in 
New  Haven  to  establish  some  general  regulations  for 
the  good  of  Masonry  in  that  State,  and  of  this  Conven- 
tion PIEKPONT  EDWAKDS  was  a  member  from  Hiram 
Lodge  in  that  city,  and  was  appointed  Secretary  of 
the  body.  He  was  also  chosen  by  it  as  one  of  a  com- 
mittee of  four  to  act  as  general  guardians  of  Masonry 


320          WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 

in  that  State.  All  the  Lodges  iu  Connecticut  at  ihis 
time  were  held  under  authority  that  had  been  granted 
by  pre-revolutionary  Provincial  Grand  Masters  on  this 
continent,  and  as  their  authority  was  now  at  an  end, 
the  Lodges  in  the  State  met  again  in  convention  by 
delegates  in  Hartford  on  the  14th  of  May,  1789,  to  con- 
sider the  propriety  of  forming  a  Grand  Lodge  for  that 
jurisdiction. 

PIERPONT  EDWARDS  was  a  delegate  also  to  this  Con- 
vention, and  was  appointed  chairman  of  a  committee 
to  prepare  a  plan  for  forming  a  Grand  Lodge,  to  sub- 
mit to  a  convention  of  delegates  to  be  held  at  New 
Haven  on  the  8th  of  July  following.  "When  the 
Convention  met,  Mr.  EDWARDS  presented  the  plan 
he  had  formed  for  a  Grand  Lodge,  together  with  a 
constitution  for  its  government,  which  were  adopted ; 
and  upon  a  ballot  being  taken  for  its  Grand  Master, 
he  was  elected  to  that  office,  and  held  it  for  two  suc- 
cessive years,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  WILLIAM  JUDD. 

Mr.  EDWARDS  was  distinguished  in  civil  as  well  as 
Masonic  life.  He  was  a  member  of  Congress  under 
the  old  confederation,  but  of  the  particulars  of  his 
public  history  we  have  not  the  records  before  us.  He 
died  on  the  14th  of  April,  1826,  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
six  years.  His  son,  HENRY  "W.  EDWARDS,  who  after- 
wards became  governor  of  that  State,  was  also  a  Mason, 
having  been  initiated  in  Hiram  Lodge.  February  2, 1809. 
He  was  also  a  member  of  Franklin  lioyal  Arch  Chapter 
in  New  Haven,  having  been  exalted  June  14, 1810.  On 
the  16th  of  October,  1818,  Governor  EDWARDS  also 
became  a  member  of  Harmony  Council  of  Royal  and 
Select  Masters  in  that  city 


JABEZ  BOWEN,  LL.D., 

LIEI  TEN  ANT-GOVERNOR    OF    RHODE    ISLAND,    AND   GRAND   MASTER    OF 
MASONS    IN    THAT-  STATE. 

JABEZ  BOWEN  was  born  in  Providence,  Rhode  Island, 
about  the  year  1740.  Of  his  youth  and  parentage  we 
have  no  account.  He  graduated  at  Yale  College  in 
1757,  while  yet  in  his  minority,  and  afterwards  became 
chancellor  of  the  college  in  Providence  as  the  successor 
of  Governor  HOPKINS.  He  held  the  chancellorship  -for 
thirty  years.  During  the  Revolutionary  "War  he  was 
devoted  to  the  cause  of  his  country,  was  a  member  of 
the  Board  of  War,  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and 
lieutenant-governor  of  his  State.  He  was  also  a  mem- 
ber of  the  State  convention  to  take  into  consideration 
the  constitution  of  the  General  Government  when  it 
was  formed.  During  the  administration  of  WASHING- 
TON, after  Rhode  Island  had  accepted  of  the  constitu- 
tion, he  was  the  Commissioner  of  loans  for  his  State. 
"With  a  great  capacity  for  public  business,  and  of  un- 
questionable integrity,  he  gained  an  elevated  character 
and  great  influence  in  society. 

Governor  BOWEN  was  a  Mason,  and  rose  to  the  high- 
est rank  in  the  Fraternity.  We  are  unable  to  give  the 
date  of  his  initiation,  but  in  1762  he  was  the  Junior 
Warden  of  St.  John's  Lodge  in  Providence.  He  also 

14* 


322  WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 

held  the  same  office  from  1765  to  1769,  when  the  labors 
of  his  Lodge  were  for  a  few  years  suspended.  St. 
John's  Lodge  had  been  organized  in  1757,  and  at  the 
close  of  1769  it  had  so  declined  that  at  its  meetings  no 
more  than  eight  were  usually  present. 

"Thus  discouraged,  without  numbers,  without  funds, 
and  without  accommodations,  they  closed  the  Lodge,  shut 
up  the  books,  and  sealed  up  their  jewels." 

JABEZ  BOWEN  was  at  this  time  its  Junior  Warden. 
We  may  imagine  the  Genius  of  Masonry  weeping  over 
that  deserted  Lodge,  and  saying,  as  she  departed — ? 

"  Those  walls  are  tott'ring  to  decay ; 

There's  dampness  on  the  stair ; 
But  well  I  mind  me  of  the  day, 

When  twoscore  men  met  there — 
When  twoscoro  brothers  met  at  night, 

The  full  round  moon  above, 
To  weave  the  mystic  chain  of  light, 

With  holy  links  of  love." 

Upon  the  loth  of  July,  1778,  JABEZ  BOWEN  received  a 
commission  from  JOHN  BOWE,  Provincial  Grand  Master 
of  Massachusetts,  to  reopen  this  Lodge  and  act  as  its 
Master.  It  was  during  the  midst  of  the  Bevolutionary 
War,  and  they  met  by  permission  of  the  State  authori- 
ties in  the  council-chamber.  The  genius  of  Masonry 
returned ;  the  Lodge  was  reorganized  under  its  new 
Master,  and  upon  St.  John  the  Evangelist's  day,  in  De- 
cember of  that  year,  held  a  public  celebration  which 
was  largely  attended  by  brethren  of  the  army  who 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS.  323 

were  stationed  in  that  State.  The  address  on  the  oc- 
casion was  delivered  by  General  YABNUM.  It  was  the 
first  Masonic  celebration  ever  held  in  Providence,  and 
seventy-one  members  of  the  Fraternity  were  present. 

JABEZ  BOWEN  continued  to  preside  over  St.  John's 
Lodge  as  Master  until  the  close  of  1790,  a  period  of 
nearly  thirteen  years.  In  1791  a  Grand  Lodge  was 
formed  in  Rhode  Island,  and  he  was  elected  its  first 
Deputy  Grand  Master.  He  continued  to  hold  this 
office  for  three  years,  and  in  1794  was  elected  Grand 
Master.  He  held  this  office  until  the  close  of  1798. 

The  official  labors  of  Mr.  BOWEN  in  Masonry  covered 
a  period  of  twenty  years  after  the  revival  of  his  Lodge, 
and  during  the  same  time  he  was  constantly  engaged 
in  public  employments.  In  the  religious  improvement 
of  society  he  also  took  a  deep  interest.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Congregational  church  in  Providence, 
and  president  of  the  Bible  Society  of  Rhode  Island. 
He  lived  a  life  of  usefulness,  and  died  lamented,  on  the 
7th  day  of  May,  1815,  at  the  age  of  seventj-&ve  v 


COLONEL  WILLIAM  BARTON, 


RHODE    ISLAND 


MASON*    WHO    CAPTURED    THE    BRITISH 
PRESCOTT. 


the  names  of  Masonic  brethren  which  the 
revolutionary  annals  of  our  country  introduce  on  the 
pages  of  history,  and  distinguished  by  one  bold  act, 
stands  that  of  Colonel  WILLIAM  BARTON,  who  success- 
fully planned  and  effected  the  capture  of  the  British 
General  PRESCOTT.  He  was  born  in  Providence,  Rhode 
Island,  in  1750  ;  but  of  his  parentage  and  early  life  wo 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEEKS.          325 

have  no  account.  He  took  up  arms  in  defence  of  his 
colony  soon  after  the  Eevolution  commenced,  and  in 
1777  we  find  him  holding  a  commission  as  lieutenant- 
colonel  in  the  Ehode  Island  troops,  and  active  in  de- 
fending his  State  against  the  British  forces  under  Gen- 
eral PEESCOTT. 

PEESCOTT  was  an  arrogant  and  tyrannical  officer, 
and  he  made  himself  particularly  obnoxious  to  the 
citizens  of  Rhode  Island ;  for  his  persecutions  ex- 
tended not  only  to  prisoners  taken  in  war,  but  to  pri- 
vate unarmed  citizens,  and  even  women  and  children. 
All  classes  were  alike  made  objects  of  his  cruelty. 
His  headquarters  were  at  the  house  of  a  Quaker  by 
the  name  of  OVEETON,  about  five  miles  from  Newport. 
Incensed  at  the  daily  reports  of  his  tyranny  and  in- 
solence to  citizens,  Colonel  BAETON  determined,  if  pos- 
sible, to  effect  his  capture.  For  this  purpose  he  en- 
gaged a  few  trusty  men,  and  on  a  sultry  night  in  July 
of  1777,  he  embarked  with  them  in  whaleboats,  and 
crossed  Narraganset  Bay  from  "Warwick  Point,  passing 
through  the  British  fleet,  and  landing  in  a  sheltered 
cove  near  PEESCOTT'S  headquarters. 

In  the  darkness  of  that  night,  they  had  passed  the 
guard-boats  of  the  British  with  muffled  oars,  and  had 
heard  the  sentinel's  cry  of  "  All's  well,"  without  being 
discovered.  Colonel  BAETON  now  divided  his  comrades 
into  two  bands,  and  approached  the  house  where  the 
British  commander  slept.  As  they  came  to  the  gate,  a 
sentinel  hailed  them  and  demanded  the  countersign. 
"We  have  110  countersign  to  give,"  boldly  replied 
Colonel  BAETON.  "  Have  you  seen  any  deserters  here 
to-night?"  continued  he  in  the  same  cool  and  collected 


,326          WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 

voice.  Deceived  by  their  manner,  the  sentinel  sup- 
posed them  friends ;  nor  did  he  suspect  the  truth,  until 
his  musket  was  seized  and  he  was  secured  and  threat- 
ened with  instant  death  if  he  made  any  noise. 

Colonel  BARTON  then  entered  the  house  boldly,  and 
found  the  Quaker  host  reading,  while  all  the  other  in- 
mates were  in  bed.  He  inquired  for  General  1 ' 
coir's  room,  and  the  Quaker  pointed  him  to  the  cham- 
ber. With  five  men  he  then  ascended  the  stairs',  and 
tried  the  general's  door;  but  it  was  locked.  No  time 
was  to  be  lost,  and  a  negro  who  was  in  the  party,  drew 
back  a  few  steps,  and  with  a  blow  like  a  battering- 
ram,  burst  the  door  in  with  his  head.  PRESCOTT  sup- 
posed he  was  in  the  hands  of  robbers,  and  seized  his 
gold  watch  to  secure  it ;  but  Colonel  BARTON  quickly 
undeceived  him  by  telling  him  he  was  his  prisoner, 
and  that  his  safety  lay  only  in  his  perfect  silence.  He 
begged  time  to  dress ;  but  as  it  was  a  hot  July  night, 
his  captors  compelled  him  to  delay  his  toilet  until  they 
could  afford  him  more  time ;  and  he  was  taken  in  his 
night-clothes  to  their  boat,  and  safely  conveyed  to 
Warwick  Point,  undiscovered  by  the  sentinels  of  the 
fleet.  The  captive  was  kept  silent  during  this  mid- 
night boat-ride,  by  a  pistol  at  each  ear ;  and  when  he 
landed,  he  first  broke  the  silence  by  saying  : 

"Sir,  you  have  made  a  bold  push  to-night." 

"We  have  been  fortunate,"  coolly  replied  Colonel 
BARTON. 

General  PRESCOTT  was  conveyed  that  night  in'  a 
coach  to  Providence,  and  was  subsequently  sent  to 
WASHINGTON'S  headquarters  in  New  Jersey.  On  his 
way  there  he  stopped  with  his  escort  to  dine  at  the 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS.          327 

tavern  of  Captain  ALDEN,  in  Lebanon,  Connecticut. 
The  landlady  set  before  them  a  bowl  of  succotash,  a 
well-known  Yankee  dish  composed  of  corn  and  beans. 
The  haughty  British  captive  supposed  it  an  intentional 
insult,  and  indignantly  exclaimed,  "  What !  do  you  feed 
me  with  the  food  of  hogs  ?"  at  the  same  time  strewing 
the  contents  of  the  dish  upon  the  floor.  Captain 
ALDEN  was  soon  informed  of  the  outrage,  and  at  once 
gave  the  British  general  a  horsewhipping.  PRESCOTT, 
for  the  second  time  a  captive,  was  exchanged  for  Gen- 
eral LEE,  and  returned  to  his  command  in  Rhode  Island ; 
but  that  he  did  not  soon  forget  his  castigation  by  the 
Connecticut  landlord,  is  seen  by  his  afterwards  excusing 
himself  for  some  discourtesy  to  an  American  gentle- 
man, by  saying  :  "  He  looked  so  much  like  a  d — d 
Connecticut  man  that  horsewhipped  me,  that  I  could 
not  endure  his  presence." 

Colonel  BARTON  was  rewarded  for  his  gallant  services 
in  capturing  General  PRESCOTT,  by  a  vote  of  thanks 
from  Congress,  accompanied  by  an  elegant  sword ;  and 
also  by  a  grant  of  land  in  Yermont.  He  was  also  pro- 
moted to  the  rank  and  pay  of  colonel  in  the  Continen- 
tal army.  He  did  not,  however,  long  remain  in  active 
service  ;  for  in  an  action  at  Butt's  Hill,  near  Bristol 
Ferry,  in  August  of  1778,  he  was  so  badly  wounded  as 
to  be  disabled  for  the  remainder  of  the  war. 

In  1779,  Colonel  BARTON  was  made  a  Mason  in  St. 
John's  Lodge  in  Providence,  Rhode  Island.  Of  his 
subsequent  Masonic  history  we  have  no  record. 

The  lands  Congress  gave  him  in  Vermont,  proved  in 
after-years  an  unfortunate  gift ;  for  in  some  transac- 
tion growing  out  of  the  sale  of  them,  he  became  en- 


328          WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 

tangled  in  the^ineshes  of  the  law,  and  under  the  code 
of  that  State,  he  was  imprisoned  in  his  old  age  for 
many  years  in  the  debtor's  cell. 

When  General  LA  FAYETTE  visited  this  country  in 
1825,  hearing  of  the  imprisonment  of  the  revolutionary 
veteran  and  its  cause,  he  paid  the  claim  and  restored 
his  venerable  fellow-soldier  and  Masonic  brother  to 
liberty.  .Though  kindly  intended,  it  was  a  national 
rebuke,  as  well  as  a  rebuke  to  the  "  Shylock  who  held 
the  patriot  in  bondage,  and  clamored  for  the  pound  of 
flesh"  It  was  this  circumstance  which  drew  from  the 
poet  WHITTIER  his  touching  lines  on  The  Prisoner  for 
Debt: 

"  \Yhat  has  the  gray -haired  prisoner  done? 

Has  murder  stain'd  his  hands  with  gore  ? 
Not  so ;  his  crime's  a  fouler  one : 

God  made  the  old  man  poor  ! 
For  this  he  shares  a  felon's  cell, 
The  fittest  earthly  type  of  hell! 
For  this,  the  boon  for  which  he  pour'd 
His  young  blood  on  the  invader's  sword, — 
And  counted  light  the  fearful  cost! — 
His  blood-gain'd  liberty  is  lost." 

Colonel  BARTON  lived  to  the  age  of  eighty-four  years, 
and  died  at  Providence  in  1831,  venerated  and  beloved 
by  all  who  knew  him. 


JOHN  SULLIVAN,  LL,  D., 

A  MAJOR-GENERAL  OF  THE  REVOLUTION  ;  FIRST  GRAND  MASTER  OF 
THE  GRAND  LODGE  OF  NEW  HAMPSHIRE,  AND  GOVERNOR  OF  TIIA7 
STATE. 

JOHN  SULLIVAN,  the  first  Grand  Master  of  Masons  ii. 
New  Hampshire,  was  of  Irish  descent.  His  father  emi- 
grated from  Ireland  to  this  country  and  settled  in  Ber 
wick,  in  Maine,  a  few  years  before  his  birth.  There, 
on  the  17th  of  February,  1740,  the  subject  of  our  sketch 


330          WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 

was  born.  He  was  his  father's  oldest  son,  and  his  early 
years  were  spent  in  assisting  him  upon  his  farm. 
When  he  came  to  manhood  he  studied  law,  and  was 
regularly  admitted  by  the  court  as  an  attorney.  He 
established  himself  in  his  profession  in  Durham,  New 
Hampshire,  and  soon  rose  to  distinction  as  an  attorney 
and  politician.  In  1774  he  was  sent  as  a  delegate 
from  New  Hampshire  to  the  Continental  Congress. 
On  his  return  home,  he  was  engaged  with  some  other 
distinguished  patriots  of  his  State  in  taking  possession 
of  the  British  fort  in  the  harbor  of  Portsmouth.  It 
was  a  bold  act,  and  one  hundred  barrels  of  powder 
and  a  quantity  of  cannon  and  small-arms  were  secured 
for  the  future  use  of  the  colonists  by  the  transaction. 

He  was  re-elected  to  Congress  the  following  year, 
and  remained  in  it  until  his  services  were  required  in 
his  own  State,  when  he  returned  home  with  a  commis- 
sion as  one  of  the  eight  brigadier-generals  which  Con- 
gress appointed,  and  soon  after  repaired  to  WASHING- 
TON'S headquarters  at  Cambridge.  When  the  Conti- 
nental army  was  organized  in  1776,  he  was  promoted 
to  the  rank  of  major-general,  and  was  sent  to  take  the 
command  of  troops  in  Canada.  He  was  not  successful 
in  this  expedition ;  was  superseded  in  command  of  the 
northern  division  by  General  GATES,  and  joined  the 
army  of  WASHINGTON  at  New  York.  Here  4he  illness 
of  General  GBEENE  placed  him  in  command  of  his  divi- 
sion at  the  battle  of  Brooklyn,  in  which  he  was  taken 
prisoner.  Being  soon  after  exchanged  for  General 
PKESCOTT,  he  again  joined  the  army,  and  was  placed 
in  command  of  one  of  its  four  divisions.  He  was  with 
WASHINGTON  at  the  battles  of  Brandywine  and  Ger- 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEEES.          331 

mantown,  but  while  the  army  was  quartered  the  fol- 
lowing winter  at  Yalley  Forge,  lie  was  sent  to  Rhode 
Island  to  take  command  of  the  troops  stationed  in  that 
State.  In  the  summer  of  1778  he  besieged  the  British 
force  at  Newport ;  but  the  want  of  the  desired  co-oper- 
ation of  the  French  fleet  prevented  his  full  success. 

While  in  command  in  Ehode  Island  in  the  autumn 
of  1778,  our  first  Masonic  record  relating  to  General 
SULLIVAN  as  a  Mason  appears.  It  was  the  permission 
granted  by  him  to  the  Brethren  under  his  command  to 
join  in  the  Masonic  Festival  of  St.  John,  on  the  28th 
of  December  of  that  year,  in  Providence.  General 
VABNUM,  who  was  also  stationed  in  Rhode  Island,  de- 
livered the  Masonic  address  that  day. 

General  SULLIVAN  had  doubtless  been  made  a  Mason 
previous  to  the  Ee volution,  but  we  have  seen  no  record 
of  the  time  or  place.  In  the  spring  of  1779  he  was 
called  into  a  new  field  of  operations,  being  sent  in  com- 
mand of  the  expedition  against  the  Indians  and  Tories 
of  New  York.  In  this  service  he  was  accompanied 
by  General  CLINTON,  and  Colonel  PBOCTOB  with  his 
regiment  of  Pennsylvania  artillery,  in  which  a  Military 
Lodge  had  recently  been  organized  under  Colonel 
PROCTOR  as  Master. 

This  expedition,  successful  in  its  designs  but  tragic 
in  its  events,  was  a  distinct  feature  in  the  war  of  the 
Revolution  ;  and  the  pages  of  our  country's  history  have 
invested  with  a  kind  of  romance  the  details  of  its  prog- 
ress and  consummation.  From  the  commencement 
of  the  war,  the  loyalists  of  the  north  had  been  joined 
with  the  Indians  of  the  Six  Nations  in  New  York  in 
cruel  and  destructive  warfare  on  our  northwestern 


332  AV  ASHING  TON'S   MASONIC   COMPEERS. 

borders.  In  Canada  and  along  the  mighty  lakes  and 
rivers  of  the  north  were  British  fortresses,  in  whose 
strongholds  the  loyalists  found  safe  retreat  and  shel- 
ter from  danger;  and  between  these  and  the  settle- 
ments and  towns  of  the  States  which  were  in  arms 
against  the  king,  were  the  hunting-grounds  and  the 
war-paths  of  the  Iroquois.  Here,  for  years  which  they 
numbered  by  the  leaves  of  their  forest-trees,  their  old 
men  and  their  women  had  rudely  cultivated  rich  inter- 
val lands  along  the  streams,  and  in  many  favorite 
places  their  cone-like  cabins  had  clustered  into  vil- 
lages. Around  these  the  fruit-trees  of  their  distant 
civilized  neighbors  had  been  planted  and  grown  to 
maturity,  and  abundant  cornfields  supplied  their 
wants  when  the  fortunes  of  the  chase  failed  them. 

From  these  British  fortresses  upon  the  lakes,  and 
the  intervening  wilderness  fastnesses  between  them 
and  the  American  settlements,  the  loyalists  and  In- 
dians commingled  together,  and  fell  in  predatory  bands 
on  many  defenceless  towns  and  villages,  whose  natural 
defenders  were  absent  in  the  general  defence  of  the 
country  under  WASHINGTON.  Like  arrows  from  an  un- 
seen bow,  or  fire-bolts  from  a  mantling  summer-cloud, 
they  often  came  when  and  where  they  were  least  ex- 
pected, and  retired  so  quickly  that  no  trace  was  left  of 
them  except  the  work  of  the  firebrand  and  the  hatchet, 
or  the  blood-stained  footsteps  of  their  captives  in  their 
hurried  return  to  the  wilderness  of  the  Iroquois  or  the 
forts  at  Niagara.  The  forest  domains  of  New  York 
were  a  hiding-place  for  loyalists,  and  a  storehouse  and 
home  to  the  Indians.  The  leaders  of  the  loyalists 
were  Sir  JOHN  JOHNSON,  Colonel  GUY  JOHNSON,  and 


WASHINGTON'S   MASONIC   COMPEERS.  333 

Colonels  BUTLER  and  GLAUS,  all  relatives,  and  all  for- 
merly distinguished  Masons  of  the  Mohawk  Valley,  and 
members  of  St.  Patrick's  Lodge.  Their  Indian  ally, 
BRANT,  the  war-chief,  was  also  a  Mason.  To  him  his- 
tory has  sometimes  paid  a  tribute  of  respect  for  a  re- 
membrance of  his  Masonic  TOWS  during  the  blood}^ 
scenes  of  war,  but  to  JOHNSON  and  BUTLER  never. 
Their  eyes  had  become  blind  to  the  Mason's  sign"  their 
ears  deaf  to  the  Mason's  word.  In  the  Masonic  tradi- 
tions of  the  Revolution,  they  have  since  stood  as  Ish- 
maelites  in  Israel.  But  let  the  mantle  we  seek  to  draw 
over  our  own  faults,  in  part,  cover  theirs.  History  is 
not  always  impartial. 

The  expedition  of  General  SULLIVAN  in  1779  against 
these  loyalists  and  Indians  was  a  war  measure, 
planned  and  approved  by  WASHINGTON  as  a  punish- 
ment for  the  unjustifiable  warfare  of  the  allied  loyalists 
and  Indians ;  and  by  breaking  up  their  strongholds  and 
destroying  their  means  of  subsistence,  to  prevent  their 
future  depredations  on  our  unprotected  settlements. 
Sternly  he  gave  what  he  deemed  a  necessary  command, 
and  most  faithfully  and  severely  did  General  SULLIVAN 
execute  it.  History  has  told  it  on  its  pages,  and  we 
have  only  space  for  some  of  its  incidents. 

Having  no  previous  military  road  to  use,  General 
SULLIVAN  was  obliged  to  cut  his  pathway  from  Easton 
on  the  Delaware  across  a  mountainous  wilderness  to 
Wyoming  on  the  Susquehanna.  As  he  approached 
the  latter  place,  he  sent  a  small  advance  company 
ahead  under  Captain  DAVIS  and  Lieutenant  JONES, 
They  were  met  by  a  party  of  Indians,  defeated,  and 
the  captain  and  lieutenant  both  slain  and  scalped. 


334:          WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 

They  were  left  by  the  Indians  on  the  ground  where 
they  fell,  and  after  their  departure  were  hastily  buried 
by  their  surviving  comrades.  Captain  DAVIS  and  Ljeu- 
tenant  JONES  were  both  .Masons,  and  when  General 
SULLIVAN  reached  the  Valley,  he  had  their  bodies  taken 
up  and  reinterred  at  "Wyoming  with  Masonic  ceremo- 
nies. It  was  the  first  Masonic  meeting  ever  held  in 
that  valley,  and  the  procession  of  Brethren  that  bore 
the  bodies  of  their  slain  companions  from  their  first 
resting-place  in  the  forest,  for  a  more  decent  inter- 
ment at  Wyoming,  was  attended  by  the  regimental 
band,  which  played  Roslin  Castle  on  their  march. 
This  Military  Lodge,  on  that  occasion,  met  at  the 
marquee  of  Colonel  PROCTOR.  Neither  history  nor  tra- 
dition has  given  us  the  names  of  Brethren  present,  but 
it  is  well  known  that  a  large  number  of  the  officers  in 
that  expedition  were  Masons,  all  of  whom,  whose  duty 
permitted  it,  it  is  presumed,  were  present.  The  old 
town  at  Wyoming  had,  at  that  time,  a  few  permanent 
inhabitants,  whose  descendants  still  reside  there ;  and 
tradition^  of  these  events  have  the  most  positive 
verity.  Fifteen  years  later  (1794)  a  Lodge  was  char- 
tered in  the  same  place  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Pennsylvania,  which  still  exists  as  No.  61,  at  Wilkes- 
barre. 

General  SULLIVAN  proceeded  soon  after  on  his  expe- 
dition, following  up  the  Susquehanna  to  its  junotion 
with  the  Tioga.  Here,  while  awaiting  the  arrival  of 
General  CLINTON  who  was  to  meet  him  with  additional 
forces  at  this  point,  a  Masonic  funeral  sermon  on  the 
death  of  Captain  DAVIS  and  Lieutenant  JONES  was 
preached  by  Dr.  EODGERS,  one  of  the  chaplains  of  the 


335 

expedition.  This  service  was  held  on  the  18th  of  August, 
and  the  text  was  from  the  seventh  verse  of  the  seventh 
chapter  of  Job,  "  Eemember  that  my  life  is  wind."  The 
progress  of  Masonry  was  thus  following  the  footsteps 
of  war-  in  its  advancement  into  the  American  wilder- 
ness. The  sound  of  its  gavel  was  renewed  at  old  Tioga 
Point  under  a  warrant  granted  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Pennsylvania  in  1796,  for  Lodge  No.  70,  which  is  still 
working  but  a  few  rods  from  where  this  Masonic  ser- 
mon was  preached  in  Fort  Sullivan  in  1779. 

From  the  commencement  of  General  SULLIVAN'S  wilder- 
ness march,  the  scouts  of  BEANT  and  his  Tory  associates 
JOHNSON  and  BUTLER  had  watched  his  progress.  They 
no  doubt  knew  his  design  was  to  penetrate  the  heart  of 
the  Indian  country,  and  perhaps  proceed  to  Niagara. 
His  superior  numbers  had  now  gained  him  an  admis- 
sion to  their  House,  as  they  termed  their  country,  the 
south-door  of  which  they  said  was  at  "  Tioga  Point." 
There  General  SULLIVAN  had. been  joined  by  two  thou- 
sand men  under  General  CLINTON,  making  his  number 
then  five  thousand. 

With  this  strong  force  BEANT,  JOHNSON,  and  BUTLEE 
saw  General  SULLIVAN  enter  the  south-door  of  the  Iro- 
quois,  and  proceed  up  the  Tioga.  When  near  what 
was  afterwards  called  Newtown  (now  Elrnira),  they  laid 
an  ambuscade  and  prepared  to  give  him  battle.  His 
strength  overcame  their  cunning  and  bravery,  and  de- 
feated and  disheartened  they  fell  back  before  his  vic- 
torious army,  and  saw  him  destroy  their  cornfields,  cut 
down  their  orchards,  and  burn  their  towns  without 
again  offering  a  united  resistance.  One  of  the  inci- 
;1  nts  of  this  devastating  march  is  painfully  interesting, 


;-5  •".<)          WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC 


and  of  a  el'ur.'cl'T  entitling  it  to  a  place  in  Ma 
narrative. 

After  General  Si  LUYAX  had  passed  into  the  h£:t; 
the  Indian  country,  and  was  near  the  Genesee  River,  he 
sent  Lieutenant  BOYD  \vith  a  guide  and  twenty-six  men 
to  reconnoitre  an  Indian  town  six  miles  ahead.  His 
guide  mistook  the  way,  and  on  the  return  of  the  party, 
they  were  drawn  into  an  ambuscade  by  BRANT  and 
BUTLEE  with  several  hundred  Indians  and  rangers,  as 
the'  loyalists  were  called,  and  nearly  all  his  men  were 
killed.  BOYD  was  wounded,  and  with  one  of  his  party 
taken  prisoner.  He  had  been  captured  once  before  at 
the  storming  of  Quebec,  but  then  was  exchanged. 
From  the  private  ranks  he  had  risen  to  that  of  lieuten- 
ant of  a  rifle  company  of  the  Pennsylvania  division, 
and  was  about  twenty-two  years  of  age.  He  was  the 
largest  and  most  muscular  man  in  his  company,  but 
having  been  wounded,  he  was  now  in  the  power  of  the 
enemy.  Lieutenant  BOYD  was  a  Mason,  and  knowing 
the  ferocity  of  the  Indians  after  seeing  their  towns 
burned,  he  gave  to  BRANT,  who  was  also  a  Mason,  a 
sign  of  the  Fraternity,  claiming  protection.  The  dusky 
chief  recognized  it  and  at  once  promised  him  his  life. 
But  being  called  away  soon  after,  BOYD  was  left  in  the 
care  of  General  BUTLER,  who,  as  before  stated,  had 
formerly  been  a  member  of  St.  Patrick's  Lodge  on  the 
Mohawk.  BUTLER  demanded  of  the  captive  informa- 
tion which  his  fidelity  to  his  own  commander  would 
not  allow  him  to  give.  The  scene  became  one  of  tragic 
interest.  Enraged  at  the  silence  of  BOYD,  BUTLER  had 
him  placed  before  him  kneeling  upon  one  knee,  with  an 
Indian  on  each  side  holding  his  arms,  and  another 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEEKS.          337 

standing  behind  him  with  a  tomahawk  raised  over  his 
head.  BUTLER  inquired  the  number  of  SULLIVAN'S*  men. 
"I  cannot  answer  you,"  was  BOYD'S  reply.  He  then 
inquired  how  his  army  was  divided  and  disposed.  "  I 
cannot  give  you  any  information,  sir,"  again  replied 
the  heroic  captive.  Again,  for  the  third  time,  BUTLER 
harshly  addressed  him : 

"  BOYD,  life  is  sweet ;  you  had  better  answer  me." 

"  Duty  forbids,"  was  the  reply  ;  "  I  would  not,  if  life 
depended  on  the  word." 

Reader,  contemplate  the  scene.  Both  were  Masons ; 
the  one  haughty,  imperious,  and  forgetful  of  his  vows ; 
the  other  a  captive  in  his  hands,  with  fortitude  un- 
daunted and  fidelity  unshaken,  thrice  refusing  to  be- 
tray his  trust.  His  last  refusal  cost  him  his  life ;  for 
before  BRANT  returned  to  his  captive,  and  unknown  to 
him,  BUTLER  delivered  him  into  the  hands  of  the  in- 
furiated Indians  about  him,  and,  amidst  tortures  too 
horrid  to  describe,  he  fell  a  martyr  to  his  trust.  Thus 
fell  Lieutenant  BOYD  on  the  13th  of  September,  1779. 
His  remains  were  found  on  the  following  day,  and 
buried  by  order  of  General  SULLIVAN  on  the  borders  of 
a  small  stream,  where  they  -lay  undisturbed  until  1841, 
sixty-two  years  after  the  event,  when  they  were  identi- 
fied, collected  in  an  urn,  and  reinterred  with  much  cere- 
mony in  Mount  Hope  Cemetery  at  Eochester. 

General  SULLIVAN  proceeded  no  further  on  this  ex- 
pedition than  the  Indian  towns  on  the  Genesee,  and 
returned  to  Tioga,  still,  burning  wigwams,  and  de- 
stroying every  means  for  subsistence  within  his 
reach.  So  dreadful  and  widespread  was  the  devasta- 
tion he  made,  that  he  was  afterwards  called  by  the 

15 


338          WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 

Indians  "  The  Town  Destroyer."  General  SULLIVAN 
was  absent  from  the  headquarters  of  the  army  in  this 
expedition  about  five  months,  and  on  his  return  re- 
ceived the  thanks  of  Congress  for  his  services ;  but  he 
was  dissatisfied  with  the  action  of  the  Board  of  "War, 
pleaded  ill-health,  and  resigned  his  commission  in  the 
army.  He  then  retired  to  private  life,  and  resumed  his 
former  profession.  He  was,  however,  immediately 
elected  by  the  State  of  New  Hampshire  a  delegate  to 
Congress,  and  took  his  seat  in  that  body  in  1780.  He 
left  Congress  after  one  year's  service,  and  again  re- 
turned to  his  profession.  In  1783  he  was  appointed 
attorney-general  of  his  State,  helped  to  form  its  con- 
stitution, and  was  chosen  a  member  of  its  council.  In 
1786  he  was  elected  governor  of  New  Hampshire,  and 
hold  the  office  for  three  successive  years. 

During  the  last  year  that  General  SULLIVAN  occupied 
the  gubernatorial  chair  of  his  State,  an  independent 
Grand  Lodge  was  formed  in  that  jurisdiction,  and  he 
was  elected  its  first  Grand  Master.  Masonic  lodges 
were  not  numerous  in  New  Hampshire  at  that  time ; 
but  five  having  then  been  organized  in  the  State,  and 
but  one  of  these  (St.  John's  at  Portsmouth)  preceding 
the  Revolution.  During  the  same  year  that  General 
SULLIVAN  was  Grand  Master  of  the  State,  he  was  also 
Master  of  this  old  lodge  at  Portsmouth.  In  Octo- 
ber of  1790,  at  a  meeting  of  this  Grand  Lodge,  Gen- 
eral SULLIVAN  communicated  to  that  body  by  letter 
the  fact,  that  the  alarming  state  of  his  health  would 
no  longer  permit  him  to  serve  as  Grand  Master,  at 
the  same  time  expressing  his  grateful  acknowledg- 
ments for  the  honor  they  had  conferred  upon  him. 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS.          339 

Dr.  HALL  JACKSON  was  therefore  elected  Grand  Master 
in  his  stead. 

General  SULLIVAN  soon  after  received  an  appointment 
as  Federal  judge  of  his  district,  and  held  that  office 
till  the  close  of  his  life.  He  died  on  the  23d  of  Janu- 
ary, 1795,  in  the  fifty- sixth  year  of  his  age.  Twenty 
years  of  his  life  had  been  spent  in  public  service,  but 
still  he  had  found  time  to  acquire  a  fund  of  general 
literature,  and  had  been  honored  by  the  university  at 
Dartmouth  with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws.  He 
led  a  life  of  usefulness,  and  his  death  was  felt  as  a  pub- 
lic loss, 


GENERAL  JAMES  JACKSON, 

GOVERNOR,  AND  GRAND  MASTER  OF  GEORGIA. 

THE  incidents  of  human  life  are  sometimes  so 
strange,  that  a  faithful  narrative  of  them  seems  a  work 
of  romance  rather  than  reality.  Many  a  protraiture  of 
heroes  of  the  Eevolution  is  rich  with  such  incidents ; 
and  of  names  thus  characterized,  stands  that  of  JAMES 
JACKSON,  of  Georgia. 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEEES. 

He  was  born  in  Devonshire,  in  England,  on  the  21st 
of  September,  1757.  His  father  emigrated  to  America 
in  1772,  and  settled  in  Georgia,  and  young  JACKSON, 
then  fifteen  years  of  age,  became  a  student  of  law  in 
Savannah.  He  loved  his  adopted  country,  and  when 
its  liberties  were  threatened  by  the  English  govern- 
ment he  shouldered  his  muskefc  to  defend  them.  Pre- 
vious to  the  Revolution,  Savannah  had  been  a  military 
station  of  the  British  troops ;  and  in  1774,  when  the 
controversy  between  the  colonies  and  the  English 
government  began  to  be  serious  and  threatening,  the 
royal  grenadiers  proudly  marched  the  streets  of  that 
city.  This  did  not,  however,  deter  the  patriotic  in- 
habitants from  organizing  as  "  Sons  of  Liberty"  in 
common  with  the  patriots  of  other  colonies  ;  and  early 
in  1776,  the  royal  governor  of  Georgia  found  his  au- 
thority there  at  an  end. 

It  was  at  this  period  that  young  JACKSON  left  his 
studies,  took  up  his  musket,  and  became  a  soldier.  He 
was  active  in  repelling  the  invading  force  that  threat- 
ened Savannah,  and  so  well  did  he  perform  his  duties, 
that  in  1778,  when  but  twenty-one  years  of  age,  he  was 
appointed  brigade-major  of  the  Georgia  militia.  In 
this  capacity  he  saw  active  service,  and  was  wounded 
in  the  skirmish  on  the  Ogeechee,  in  which  General 
SCKIVEN  was  killed. 

At  the  close  of  that  year,  the  British  made  an  attack 
on  Savannah,  and  it  fell  into  their  hands.  Major  JACK- 
SON fought  in  its  defence,  but  when  compelled  to  yield 
to  a  superior  force,  he  was  among  those  who  fled  to 
South  Carolina,  and  joined  General  MOULTRIE'S  brigade. 
The  account  of  that  dismal  flight  is  full  of  romantic 


342          WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 

incidents.  Hunger  and  fatigue  liad  rendered  his  ap- 
pearance wretched  and  suspicious,  and  his  foreign  ac- 
cent induced  some  of  the  Whigs  to  suspect  that  he  was 
a  British  spy.  He  was  accordingly  arrested,  sum- 
marily tried,  and  condemned  to  be  hung.  He  was 
taken  to  the  fatal  tree ;  a  rope  was  prepared,  when  a 
gentleman  of  reputation  from  Georgia  recognized  him 
and  saved  his  life. 

Major  JACKSON  was  soon  after  active  in  the  terrible, 
but  unfortunate  siege  of  Savannah  by  the  American 
and  French  forces  in  October  of  1779  ;  and  in  August, 
1780,  he  joined  Colonel  CLARK'S  command,  and  was  at 
the  battle  of  Blackstocks.  In  1781,  General  PICKENS 
made  him  his  brigade-major,  and  his  zeal  and  patriot- 
ism infused  new  spirit  into  that  corps.  He  was  at 
the  siege  of  Augusta  in  June  of  that  year,  and  when 
the  American  forces  took  possession  of  it,  he  was  left 
in  command  of  its  garrison.  After  this  he  was  in  com- 
mand of  a  legionary  corps,  and  well  sustained  his  repu- 
tation as  a  skilful  officer.  Afterwards  he  joined  Gen- 
eral WAYNE  at  Ebenezer  on  the  Savannah,  and  was  the 
right-arm  of  his  force  until  the  evacuation  of  the 
Georgia  capital  by  the  British  in  1782. 

Major  JACKSON  retired  on  the  return  of  peace  to  Sa- 
vannah, and  his  patriotic  services  during  the  war  were 
so  highly  appreciated,  that  the  legislature  of  Georgia 
gave  him  a  house  and  lot  in  that  city.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  1785.  It  was  at  this  period  of  his  life  that  we 
find  our  first  records  of  his  Masonic  history.  King 
Solomon's  Lodge  at  Savannah,  which  had  commenced 
its  work  under  an  old  oak-tree  in  1733  when  the  firv; 
settlement  in  Georgia  began,  had  belonged  to  the 


WASHINGTONS  MASONIC  COMPEEES. 

branch  of  Masons  denominated  Moderns;  but  in 
February,  1785,  it  was  proposed  by  Major  JACKSON, 
who  was  then  one  of  its  members,  that  they  form 
themselves  into  a  lodge  of  Ancients.  The  proposi- 
tion was  referred  to  a  committee,  and  was  subse- 
quently agreed  to,  and  the  brethren  were  duly  con- 
stituted by  the  usual  ceremonies  a  Lodge  of  Ancient 
York  Masons. 

In  1786  an  independent  Grand  Lodge  was  formed  in 
Georgia  by  the  former  Provincial  Grand  Master,  Gov- 
ernor SAMUEL  ELBEET'S  relinquishing  all  authority  as 
such  ;  and  of  the  new  Grand  Lodge  thus  formed,  Gen- 
eral WILLIAM  STEPHENS  was  Grand  Master,  and  General 
JAMES  JACKSON  (who  had  the  same  year  been  promoted 
to  the  rank  of  a  brigadier-general),  was  his  Deputy. 
The  following  year  he  was  elected  Grand  Master,  and 
held  the  office  by  re-election  until  the  close  of  1789. 
During  the  first  year  that  he  served  as  Grand  Master 
he  was  elected  governor  of  his  State ;  but  he  declined 
the  honor  on  account  of  his  youth  and  inexperience, 
being  then  less  than  thirty  years  of  age — a  rare  in- 
stance 'of  genuine  modesty  that  perhaps  has  no  parallel 
in  the  history  of  our  country.  He  was,  however,  elected 
soon  after  to  a  seat  in  the  Federal  Congress,  and  from 
1792  to  1795  was  a  member  of  the  United  States  Senate. 
In  the  mean  time  he  received  the  appointment  of  major- 
general. 

In  1798  he  was  a  member  of  the  convention  that 
framed  the  constitution  of  the  State  of  Georgia ;  and  it 
is  said  that  that  instrument  was  the  work  of  his  hand 
and  brain.  He  was  elected  the  first  governor  under  it, 
and  held  the  office  until  1801,  when  he  was  again 


344          WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 

elected  to  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  and  held  that 
position  until  his  death,  ^-liich  occurred  in  the  City  of 
Washington  on  the  19th  of  March,  1806,  in  the  forty- 
ninth  year  of  his  age.  His  remains  were  at  first  buried 
a  few  miles  from  the  city,  but  were  subsequently  re- 
moved and  deposited  in  the  congressional  burial-ground 
at  Washington.  Upon  the  stone  which  marks  the  spot 
is  an  inscription  by  his  friend  and  admirer,  JOHN  RAN- 
DOLPH, of  Roanoke. 

The  record  of  his  life  is  deeply  engraven  on  the  Ma- 
sonic, as  well  as  general  history  of  our  country.  It 
was  during  his  Grand  Mastership,  and  under  his  direc- 
tion, that  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Georgia  made  strong 
efforts  to  unite  all  the  Grand  Lodges  in  America  under 
one  general  head ;  and  his  correspondence  on  this  sub- 
ject is  still  to  be  found  in  the  archives  and  on  the 
record-books  of  most  of  the  then  existing  Grand 
t  Lodges.  The  project,  however,  failed,  and  though  at 
various  times  during  the  present  century  it  has  been 
publicly  recommended  by  distinguished  Masons,  it  has 
never ^yet  been  accomplished. 

There  have  been  other  distinguished  American  Ma- 
sons by  the  name  of  JACKSON,  whose  identity  has  some- 
times been  confounded  with  his,  where  the  name  has 
been  found  in  old  lodge-records  and  documents.  One 
of  these  was  Dr.  JAMES  JACKSON,  of  Massachusetts,  who 
was  Junior  Grand  Warden  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  An- 
cients in  that  State  in  1780.  Another  was  General 
ANDREW  JACKSON,  late  President  of  the  United  States, 
who  was  in  1822-3  Grand  Master  of  Masons  in  Ten- 
nessee. Dr.  HATT.  JACKSON  was  the  second  Grand 
Master  of  New  Hampshire. 


WILLIAM  RICHARDSON  DAVIE, 

GOVERNOR   OF    NORTH    CAROLINA,  AND    GRAND    MASTER    OF    MASONS 
IN    THAT    STATE. 

WILLIAM 'KiCHARDSON  DAYIE,  governor  of  North  Caro- 
lina, and  Grand  Master  of  Masons  in  that  State, 
was  of  English  birth,  having  been  born  at  Egremont, 
near  White  Haven,  in  England,  on  the  20th  of  June, 
1756.  His  father  brought  him  to  America  when  he 
was  but  five  years  of  age,  and  left  him  to  the  care  of  a 
15* 


346          WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 

maternal  uncle,  the  Eev.  WILLIAM  RICHARDSON  of  South 
Carolina,  by  whom  he  was  adopted  as  a  son.  There  in 
the  old  Palmetco  State  he  was  reared  and  educated 
until  he  was  fitted  for  college,  when  he  was  sent  to 
Princeton,  New  Jersey,  where  he  graduated  in  tho  fall 
of  1776,  in  tho  twenty-first  year  of  his  age. 

During  his  senior  year  in  college,  the  storm-cloud  of 
war  burst  on  our  land  ;  and  when  tho  British  army 
was  advancing  upon  the  city  of  New  York,  he  left  his 
class,  and  became  for  a  time  a  volunteer  soldier  ;  but 
after  the  battle  of  Long  Island,  and  tho  capture  of  tho 
city,  he  returned  to  Princeton  and  completed  his 
studies.  His  concluding  lessons  v.viv  taken  within  the 
roar  of  the  British  cannon,  and  he  left  Princeton  just 
before  WASHINGTON  and  his  broken  awny  passed  through 
that  town  in  their  flight  towards  the  Delaware. 

The  young  graduate  then  returned  to  his  Southern 
home;  but  he  carried  with  him  the  remembrance  of 
scenes  he  had  witnessed  at  the  North,  and  resolved  to 
enter  the  field  in  defence  of  his  adopted  country,  and 
resist  the  aggressions  of  his  fatherland,  as  soon  as  an 
honorable  post  could  be  found.  No  position  worthy  of 
his  talent  at  once  offering  itself,  he  engaged  in  the 
study  of  law  at  Salisbury,  in  North  Carolina.  But  the 
fire  of  patriotism  still  burned  in  his  breast,  and  as  the 
war-clouds  thickened,  he  joined  a  corps  of  dragoons  as 
lieutenant,  and  marched  towards  Charleston,  in  South 
Carolina,  to  join  the  legion  of  PULASKI.  In  the  battle 
of  Stono  Ferry,  a  few  miles  from  Charleston,  he  was 
wounded  in  the  thigh,  and  confined  with  his  wound  in 
the  hospital  for  five  months. 

When  he  recovered,  he  returned  to  Salisbury,  and 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS.          347 

resumed  the  study  of  law.  In  1780  a  regiment  of  cav- 
alry was  raised  by  the  State  of  North  Carolina,  and  he 
received  in  it  a  commission  as  major.  In  the  equip- 
ment of  this  troop,  he  is  said  to  have  expended  the  last 
shilling  of  his  own  private  means,  and  as  he  mounted 
his  war-horse,  he  had  nothing  but  that  mettled  steed 
and  his  own  good  blade  that  he  could  call  his  own. 
He  nobly  aided  SUMTER  in  his  operations  on  the  Ca- 
tawba,  and  was  at  the  battles  of  Hanging  Rock,  Ram- 
sour's  Mills,  and  at  Wahab's  Plantation.  For  his  ser- 
vices in  ihat  campaign,  he  was  rewarded  with  the  office 
of  colonel. 

When  General  GREENE  took  command  of  the  South- 
ern army  in  1781,  he  appointed  Colonel  DAVIE  his  com- 
missary-general, and  he  was  with  that  officer  in  his  cele- 
brated retreat,  and  at  the  battles  of  Guilford,  Hobkirk's 
Hill,  and  Ninety-six.  It  was  at  this  trying  hour,  when 
the  fate  of  the  Southern  army  seemed  to  hang  upon  a 
brittle  thread,  when  its  numbers  were  reduced,  its  am- 
munition nearly  exhausted,  and  its  commissariat  empty, 
that  General  GREENE  sent  DAVIE  to  represent  his  con- 
dition to  the  government  of  North  Carolina,  charging 
him  to  give  "  no  sleep  to  his  eyes,  nor  slumber  to  his 
eyelids,"  until  relief  could  be  obtained.  But  the  dark 
days  of  Southern  despondency  soon  passed  away,  and 
when  the  peace  of  1783  smiled  on  the  land,  the  heroes 
who  had  won  American  liberty  returned  to  their  former 
homes  and  peaceful  avocations. 

Colonel  DAVIE  left  the  army  in  the  autumn  of  1783, 
married  a  daughter  of  General  ALLEN  JONES,  and  com- 
menced the  practice  of  law  in  Halifax,  North  Carolina. 
In  this  profession  he  soon  became  eminent,  and  was 


348          WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COM  REEKS. 

» 

chosen  a  delegate  to  the  convention  that  framed  the 
Federal  constitution.  He  was  also  commissioned  in 
1797  a  major-general  of  the  militia  of  the  State,  and 
in  1798,  he  was  appointed  under  WASHINGTON  a  briga- 
dier-general in  the  army  of  the  United  States.  In 
the  same  year  he  was  also  elected  governor  of  the  State 
of  North  Carolina,  and  was  soon  after  appointed  by 
President  ADAMS  an  associate  envoy  extraordinary  to 
France,  with  ELSWORTH  and  MURRAY. 

Governor  DAVIE  was  a  Mason,  but  we  are  unable  to 
state  at  what  time,  or  in  what  lodge,  he  became  a  mem- 
ber of  that  Fraternity.  He  was  twenty-seven  years  of 
age  when  he  settled  as  a  lawyer  in  Halifax.  .An  old 
lodge  had  existed  since  1767  in  that  town,  but  tho 
sound  of  its  gavel  had  ceased  during  the  Revolution. 
When  peace  was  established,  the  old  lodges  of  North 
Carolina  resumed  their  labors,  and  in  1787  they  all 
united  to  form  an  Independent  Grand  Lodge  for  that 
State.  Of  this  Grand  Lodge,  Governor  DAVTE  became 
the  third  Grand  Master,  a  position  wjiich  he  held  for 
many  years,  and  until  he  was  sent  as  ambassador  to 
France  in  1799.  It  is  presumed  he  was  made  a  Ma- 
son in  the  "  Royal  White  Hart"  Lodge  at  Halifax. 

Governor  DAVIE  took  a  deep  interest  in  the  educational 
interests  of  his  State,  and  was  one  of  the  founders  of 
the  "  North  Carolina  University,"  at  Chapel  Hill,  tho 
corner-stone  of  which  he  laid,  as  Grand  Master  of  the 
State,  on  the  14th  of  April,  1798,  in  presence  of  all  the 
civil  and  Masonic  dignitaries  of  North  Carolina. 

This  stone,  Masonic  records  state,  was  laid  at  the 
southeast  corner  of  the  edifice,  according  to  Masonic 
usage  at  that  day. 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS.  349 

The  procession  was  composed  of  the — 

"  Architect, 
Mechanics  and  Peasants, 

Grand  Music, 
Teacher  and  Students  of  Chatham  Academy, 

Students  of  the  University, 

The  Faculty  of  the  University, 

The  Gentlemen  of  the  Bar, 

The  Honorable  the  Judges, 

The  Honorable  the  Council  of  State, 

His  Excellency  the  Governor, 

The  Trustees  of  the  University, 

The  Masonic  Craft,  with 

The  Grand  Master." 

It  was  the  most  important  public  Masonic  ceremony 
in  North  Carolina  during  the  last  century,  and  the  iiev. 
Dr.  CALDWELL,  a  member  of  the  Faculty  of  the  Uni- 
versity, delivered  an  oration  on  the  occasion. 

When  Governor  DAYIE  returned  from  France,  he 
was  engaged  by  President  ADAMS  in  some  Indian 
treaties ;  but  upon  the  death  of  his  wife,  in  1803,  he 
withdrew  from  public  life,  and  died  at  Tivoli  (some 
authorities  say  Camden),  in  South  Carolina,  in  Decem- 
ber of  1820,  in  the  sixty-fourth  year  of  his  age.  On 
his  retirement  from  the  office  of  Grand  Master,  a  lodge 
was  chartered  in  Lexington,  bearing  the  name  of  "Wil- 
liam R.  Davie"  lodge.  It  is  still  in  existence.  Another 
lodge  called  "Davie"  was  soon  after  chartered  in  Bertie 
County,  but  it  has  since  ceased  to  exist. 


RICHARD  CASWELL 

GOVERNOR    OF    NORTH    CAROLINA,    AND    GRAND    MASTER    OF    MASON'S 
IN    THAT    STATE. 

BICHARD  CASWELL,  governor  of  North  Carolina,  and 
Grand  Master  of  the  Masons  in  that  State,  was  born  in 
Maryland,  on  the  2d  of  August,  1729.  His  father  was 
a  merchant,  and  having  met  with  some  reverses  in  busi- 
ness, his  son,  BICHARD,  left  the  parental  roof  to  seek  his 
fortune  in  the  new  colony  of  North  Carolina.  His 
education  and  social  standing  must  have  been  good, 
for  he  bore  letters  of  commendation  from  the  governor 
of  Maryland  to  Governor  JOHNSTON,  of  North  Carolina, 
and  received  employment  in  one  of  the  public  offices. 
He  was  appointed  deputy  surveyor  of  the  colony,  and 
also  clerk  of  the  court  of  Orange  in  1753.  He  was 
then  twenty-four  years  of  age. 

He  soon  afterwards  married,  and  settled  in  Dobbs 
(now  Lenoir)  County.  His  first  wife  bore  him  one  son, 
WILLIAM,  and  died.  He  married  a  second  wife,  who 
was  SARAH,  the  daughter  of  WILLIAM  HERRITAGE,  an  emi- 
nent attorney,  and  under  him  he  studied  law,  and  was 
licensed  to  practise  in  the  courts  of  that  colony.  In 
1754  he  had  been  chosen  a  delegate  to  represent  the 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS.          351 

county  of  Johnston  in  the  Colonial  Assembly,  and 
vvas  honored  with  .a  continuance  of  that  appointment 
for  sixteen  successive  years,  the  ten  last  of  which  he 
was  speaker  of  the  Lower  House.  He  also  bore  a  com- 
mission as  colonel  of  the  militia  of  his  county,  and  as 
such,  was  joined  with  Governor  TEYON  in  suppressing 
an  uprising  of  the  people  in  the  first  stages  of  colonial 
discontent  at  their  taxations  by  the  English  govern- 
ment. 

CASWELL  was  then  in  the  meridian  of  life,  his 
education  and  position  were  such  as  to  give  him  in- 
fluence in  the  colony,  and  he  no  doubt  looked  with  dis- 
favor on  the  first  opposition  that  was  shown  in  North 
Carolina  to  the  powers  of  the  royal  government.  He 
could  not,  however,  have  long  remained  an  advocate  of 
the  royal  pretensions ;  for  in  1774  he  was  one  of  the 
delegates  from  his  State  to  the  General  Congress  at 
Philadelphia,  and  was  continued  in  this  office  in  1775. 
In  September  of  that  year  he  resigned  his  seat  in  Con- 
gress, to  fill  the  office  of  treasurer  of  North  Carolina. 

The  old  colonial  government  under  Governor  MAR- 
TIN, the  last  of  the  royal  governors  of  North  Carolina, 
had  lost  all  its  power  after  the  second  meeting  of  the 
General  Congress  at  Philadelphia,  and  a  body,  calling 
itself  the  Provincial  Congress  of  North  Carolina,  as- 
sumed the  powers  of  government  in  that  common- 
wealth. A  declaration  of  rights,  and  a  constitution, 
were  adopted  in  1776,  and  EICHARD  CASWELL  was 
elected  the  first  governor  under  it.  He  had  been  a 
member  of  the  Provincial  Congress  that  framed  this 
constitution,  had  presided  over  that  body  as  its  pre- 
sident, and  had  also  received  from  it  the  appoint- 


352          WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 

ment  of  brigadier-general  of  the  militia  of  the  district 
of  Newbern.  He  was  continued  as  governor  of  North 
Carolina  through  the  years  of  1777,  '78,  and  '79,  and 
refused  to  receive  any  compensation  for  his  services 
beyond  his  expenses. 

In  1779  he  took  the  field  as  brigadier-general,  led  the 
troops  of  North  Carolina  under  General  GATES,  and  was 
engaged  at  the  disastrous  battle  of  Carnden.  He  after- 
wards was  a  member  of  the  Senate  of  his  State,  was  chosen 
its  speaker,  and  held  other  offices  of  public  trust,  until 
1784,  when  he  was  again  elected  governor  of  his  State, 
and  again  held  the  office  for  two  successive  years,  at 
the  close  of  which,  by  the  provisions  of  the  constitu- 
tion, he  became  ineligible.  In  1787  he  was  elected  by 
the  Assembly  a  delegate  to  the  convention  that  framed 
the 'Federal  Constitution  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia, 
with  power  to  appoint  a  substitute  if  he  could  not  at- 
tend. WILLIAM  BLOUNT  was  selected  by  him  as  his 
substitute,  and  his  name  "stands  on  the  national 
records  as  a  delegate  from  North  Carolina,  instead  of 
that  of  KICHAUD  CASWELL.  In  1789  he  was  again  elected 
to  the  Senate  of  his  State,  and  also  a  member  of  the 
convention  that  finally  ratified  for  North  Carolina  the 
Federal  constitution. 

When  the  legislature  of  his  State  met  in  1789,  lie 
was  again  speaker  of  the  Senate  : 

"  But  his  course  was  run.  His  second  son,  RICHARD,  had 
been  lost  on  his  passage  by  sea  from  Charleston  to  New- 
bern, and  the  father  certainly  entertained  the  opinion  that 
he  had  been  taken  by  pirates,  and  carried  to  Algiers,  or 
murdered.  This,  and  other  events,  threw  a  cloud  over  his 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS.          353 

mind  from  which  he  never  recovered.  While  presiding"  in 
'lie  Senate,  on  the  5th  of  November,  he  was  struck  with  a 
paralysis,  and  after  lingering  speechless  till  the  10th,  he 
expired  in  the  sixtieth  year  of  his  age.  His  body  was,  after 
the  usual  honors,  conveyed  to  his  family  burial-place  in 
Lenoir,  and  there  interred  with  Masonic  honors." 

His  funeral  oration  was  delivered  by  FRANCIS  XAVTER 
MARTIN,  of  which  the  following  is  a  copy : 

"  WORSHIPFUL  SIRS  AND  WORTHY  BRETHREN — Bereft  of  him 
who  conducted  our  works,  we  are  met  to  discharge  the 
tribute  of  a  tear  due  to  his  memory.  How  deeply  the  rest 
of  the  community  sympathizes  with  us.,  on  this  melancholy 
occasion,  the  attendance  of  a  respectable  number  of  our  fel- 
low-citizens fully  testifies. 

"  Shall  our  griefs  terminate  in  sterile  tears  ?  Shall  this 
discourse,  sacred  to  the  memory  of  the  Most  Worshipful  and 
Honorable  Major-General  RICHARD  CASWELL,  Grand  Master  of 
the  Masons  of  North  Carolina,  be,  like  the  song  of  the  un- 
tutored savage,  the  mere  rehearsal  of  a  warrior's  achieve- 
ments ?  No.  In  admiring  the  virtues  that  have  rendered 
his  death,  like  JOSIAH'S  lamented  in  Judea  and  Jerusalem,  let 
us,  as  Christians  and  Masons,  be  stimulated,  not  to  offer  idle 
adulation  to  his  manes,  but  to  imitate,  in  the  practise  of 
every  virtue,  so  bright  a  pattern. 

"  Nothing  excites  more  powerfully  to  virtuous  deeds, 
than  the  examples  of  those  whom  they  have  rendered  con- 
spicuous. Man  generally  desires  what  he  finds  applauded 
in  others.  And,  either  because  virtue  appears  more  noble 
when  he  hears  it  praised,  or  less  difficult  when  he  sees 
it  practised,  he  is  stimulated  thereto  —  as  the  labor  is 
not  without  reward,  and  remissness  would  be  without 

3XCUSC. 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 


"  The  examples  of  the  dead  are  no  less  powerful  than 
those  of  the  living.  .We  look  upon  the  virtues  of  the  former 
with  a  greater  degree  of  veneration,  as  we  view  those 
of  the  latter  with  a  greater  degree  of  envy  ;  perhaps, 
because,  death  having  crowned  them,  we  are  willing  to 
relieve  that  posterity  praises  without  flattery,  as  it  praises 
without  interest  —  or  rather  (for  why  should  the  real  reason 
be  concealed  in  this  temple  of  truth  ?)  because  our  pride 
will  not  suffer  us  to  acknowledge  them. 

"To  convene  the  people  when  some  illustrious  popular 
character  has  terminated  his  career,  and  to  improve  the  op- 
portunity of  exciting  them  to  patriotic  virtues,  is  an  ancient 
custom,  frequent  instances  of  which  occurred  in  sacred  and 
profane  history.  The  heart  of  man,  however  obdurate,  when 
operated  upon  by  gtief,  or  the  idea  of  a  future  state,  is  pre- 
pared to  receive  such  favorable  impressions  ;  as  the  stiff  and 
close-grained  stone  becomes  pliant  and  ductile  when  heated 
by  the  fire  of  the  furnace. 

"Thus  we  read  that  the  corpse  of  C.ESAR,  having  been 
brought  into  the  Forum  of  the  then  metropolis  of  the  world, 
ANTONY,  holding  up  that  Dictator's  garment,  addressed  the 
Roman  people  :  '  You  well  know,'  said  he,  '  this  mantle.  I 
remember  the  first  time  C^SAR  put  it  on.  It  was  on  the  day 
he  overcame  the  Nervii.  If  you  have  tears  to  shed,  prepare 
to  shed  them  now.' 

"  With  as  much  propriety  can  I  rise  to-day,  and  address 
ing  you,  say  : 

"You  well  know  these  badges.  They  are  the  insignia 
of  Masonry  —  of  a  society  which,  for  its  antiquity  and  utility, 
acknowledges  no  equal  among  the  institutions  of  the  sons 
of  man.  Behold  the  white  apron  that  was  girded  on  him, 
the  loss  of  wfrom  we  bemoan,  on  the  day  he  became  a  Ma- 
son !  He  has  left  it  to  you  unsullied.  He  has  left  it  to  you, 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEEKS.         355 

decorated  with  those  marks  of  dignity  to  which  merit  alon« 
gives  title. 

"  If  you  have  tears  to  shed,  prepare  to  shed  them  now. 

"  He  is  no  more.  No  longer  shall  he,  like  the  eastern  sun, 
illuminate  our  lodges  ;  no  longer  shall  he  plan  or  direct  our 
works. 

"You  well  know,  fellow-citizens,  that  sword,  emblem 
atical  of  Supreme  Executive  Authority.  I  remember  the  first 
time  it  was  delivered  to  him.  It  was  on  the  day  we  shook 
off  the  British  domination  and  became  a  People. 

"  If  you  have  tears  to  shed,  prepare  to  shed  them 
now. 

"  He  is  no  more.  No  longer  shall  he  wield  the  sword  of 
justice  attempered  by  mercy.  No  longer  shall  he  preside  in 
your  councils,  or  lead  you  to  the  hostile  field. 

"To  enter  here  into  a  minute  detail  of  the  services  he 
rendered  you,  would  be  to  premise  that  they  may  be  ob- 
literated from  your  memory — you  remember  them.  Breth- 
ren and  fellow-citizens,  they  cannot  have  been  forgotten. 

"  It  was  he  who  headed  you  on  the  day  you  broke  down 
the  superior  phalanx  of  Scotch  troops,  at  Moor's  Creek  ;  and 
thereby  preserved  the  cause  of  freedom  from  the  deadly 
blow  this  re-enforcement  would  have  enabled  our  enemies  to 
strike. 

"  It  was  he  who  presided  in  the  Assembly  of  Patriots, 
who  framed  that  instrument,  which  defined  your  rights  arid 
the  authority  of  your  rulers,  and  has  secured  your  liberties 
to  this  day. 

"  It  was  he  whom  your  united  voices  twice  called  to  the 
supreme  magistracy  of  this  State — and  it  was  he  who,  but 
a  few  days  ago,  still  filled  the  chair  of  your  Senate. 

"  If  his  public  character  affords  a  vast  field  to  the  pane- 
gyrist's fancy,  his  private  one  deserves  no  less  attention  and 


356          WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 

praise  In  it  we  shall  always  find  an  example  worthy  of 
imitation. 

"  Public  virtue  may  procure  a  more  shining  reputation, 
but  domestic  virtue  gives  a  more  solid  merit.  The  former, 
when  unsupported  by  the  latter,  is,  in  the  warrior,  a  thirst 
of  glory — in  the  civil  ruler,  a  thirst  of  power. 

"  A  single  instance  of  momentary  intrepidity  may  make 
a  name  to  the  chieftain  ;  but  a  continued  spirit  of  modera- 
tion alone  characterizes  the  virtuous  individual. 

"  Valor  is  a  noble  passion,  which  evinces  a  greatness  of 
soul.  But  too  oft  it  is  a  vain  generosity  excited  by  am- 
bition,  and  which  has  for  its  aim  the  mere  gratification  of  a 
selfish  pride  ;  an  inconsiderate  boldness  justified  by  success  ; 
a  blind  ferocity  which  stifles  the  voice  of  humanity,  and  by 
the  tears  it  causes  to  il»\v,  and  (lie  blood  of  its  victims,  tar- 
nishes the  laurels  of  the  vanquisher. 

"  Domestic  virtue,  on  the  contrary,  is  so  perfect,  that  it 
is  laudable  even  in  its  excesses.  It  is  peaceable  and  con- 
stant, and  springs  from  a  meekness  and  tenderness  which 
regulate  desire  ;  and  giving  the  virtuous  individual  the 
command  of  his  own,  causes  him  to  reign  over  the  hearts  of 
others.  The  one  excites  astonishment  and  fear  ;  the  other 
commands  reverence  and  love. 

"The  Swede  boasts  of  the  name  of  CHARLES  XII.,  but  Messes 
that  of  GUSTAVUS  VASA. 

"  In  him,  of  whom  the  hand  of  death  has  bereft  us,  pub- 
lic and  domestic  virtues  were  ever  united.  Not  satisfied 
in  watching  with  unremitted  attention  over  the  welfare  of 
the  community,  he  anxiously  endeavored  to  promote  the 
felicity  of  its  members.  Blest  with  a  complacency  of  dis- 
position and  equanimity  of  temper  which  peculiarly  endeared 
him  to  his  friends,  he  commanded  respect  even  from  his 
enemies.  The  tender  sensibility  of  his  heart  was  such,  that 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS.          357 

he  needed  but  to  see  distress,  to  feel  it  and  contribute  to  its 
relief.  Deaf  to  the  voice  of  interest,  even  in  the  line  of  his 
profession,  whenever  oppressed  indigence  called  for  his  as- 
sistance, he  appeared  at  the  bar  without  even  the  hope  of 
any  other  reward  than  the  consciousness  of  having  so  far 
promoted  the  happiness  of  a  fellow-man. 

"Such  is,  Worshipful  Sirs  and  worthy  brethren,  the  char- 
acter of  one  whose  lessons  shall  no  longer  instruct  us,  but 
the  remembrance  of  whose  virtues  will  long  continue  to 
edify  us. 

"  Such  is,  fellow-citizens,  the  character  of  one  who  bore 
so  great  a  share  in  the  Revolution  by  which  you  became  a 
nation  ;  who,  during  his  life,  was  ever  honored  with  some 
marks  of  your  approbation,  and  whose  memory  will,  I  doubt 
not,  be  embalmed  in  your  affections. 

"  Shades  of  WARREN,  MONTGOMERY,  arid  MERCER  !  and  ye 
shades  of  those  other  Columbian  chiefs  who  bore  away  the 
palm  of  political  martyrdom  1  attend,  receive,  and  welcome, 
into  the  happy  mansions  of  the  just,  a  soul  congenial  with 
those  of  your  departed  heroes,  and  meriting  alike  our  es- 
teem, our  gratitude,  and  our  tears." 

Governor  CASWELL  was  a  Mason,  and  as  such  had 
received  the  highest  honors  of  the  Fraternity  in  his 
State,  being  the  second  Grand  Master  of  North  Carolina 
after  its  Independent  Grand  Lodge  was  formed  in  1787, 
and  holding  the  office  at  the  time  of  his  death.  He 
had  been  preceded,  as  Grand  Master,  by  SAMUEL  JOHN- 
STON, who  was  governor  of  North  Carolina  at  the  death 
of  Governor  CASWELL;  and  his  successor,  as  Grand 
Master,  was  WILLIAM  KICHAKDSON  DAVIE,  who  held 
the  office  for  nine  years,  during  the  last  of  which,  he 
was  also  governor  of  the  State.  Thus  from  the  in- 


358          WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 

dependence  of  that  State,  until  the  last  year  of  the 
century,  each  of  her  three  governors  was  also  the 
Grand  Master  of  the  Masons  of  North  Carolina.  To 
commemorate  the  Masonic  virtues  of  its  first  two  Grand 
Masters,  a  lodge  was  chartered  at  Warrenton  with  the 
name  of  "  Johnston-Caswell  Lodge ;"  and  another  in 
Caswell  County,  was  called  "  Caswell  Brotherhood," 
botli  of  which  are  now  extinct. 


DR.  JAMES  MILNOR, 

GRAND    MASTER    OF    PENNSYLVANIA. 

DR.  JAMES  MILNOR  was  the  son  of  WILLIAM  MILNOR 
of  Philadelphia.  He  was  born  in  that  city  on  the  20th 
of  June,  1773,  and  was  by  birthright  a  Quaker.  His 
education  was  received  at  the  public-schools  in  Phila- 
delphia and  in  the  university  of  Pennsylvania.  At  the 
age  of  sixteen  he  left  the  university  and  commenced 
the  study  of  law,  and  before  he  was  twenty  years-one  of 


360         WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 

age  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  This  was  in  1794,  and 
he  settled  in  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  Norris- 
town,  a  few  miles  from  Philadelphia.  Norristown  was 
then  a  small  Tillage  but  ten  years  old.  It  was  in  a 
German  district,  and  the  inhabitants  there,  when 
JAMES  MILNOB  settled  in  it  as  a  lawyer,  mostly  spoke 
the  German  language.  He  had  acquired  a  knowledge 
of  that  dialect  in  the  schools  of  his  native  city,  and 
was  thus  enabled  to  accommodate  himself  to  the  wants 
of  a  community  where  the  common  business  was  trans- 
acted in  Gorman.  He  soon  rose  to  distinction  in  his 
profession,  and  had  the  confidence  of  his  fellow-citizens 
as  an  able  and  honest  lawyer.-  While  thus  engaged  at 
Norristown,  lie  was  made  a  Mason  in  old  Lodge  No. 
31,  of  that  place.  His  initiation  took  place  in  August, 
1795.  He  was  then  twenty-two  years  of  age.  He  was 
soon  after  elected  Master  of  this  Lodge  ;  but  on  re- 
moving the  following  year  to  Philadelphia,  he  became 
a  member  of  Lodge  No.  3,  in  that  city.  His  affiliation 
with  this  Lodge  was  on  the  6th  of  September,  1796, 
and  he  was  afterwards  its  Treasurer. 

When  Mr.  MILNOB  returned  to  Philadelphia,  he 
engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  that  city. 
In  1799  he  married  a  lady  who  was  by  education  an 
Episcopalian  ;  and  as  the  marriage  ceremony  was  per- 
formed by  a  clergyman  of  that  denomination,  it  gave 
offence  to  his  Quaker  brethren  that  he  should  be  mar- 
ried by  a  "  hireling  priest,"  and  this  being  contrary  to 
their  established  "discipline"  he  was  "disowned"  and 
his  membership  with  the  Quakers  ceased  forever. 

In  1805,  Mr.  MILNOB  was  chosen  a  member  of  the 
city  council,  and  held  the  position  from  1805  until  1809, 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS.          361 

during  the  latter  year  being  its  president.  He  was 
very  popular  with  the  people,  and  in  1810  yielded  to 
the  earnest  wishes  of  his  political  friends,  and  reluc- 
tantly consented  to  become  a  candidate  for  Congress. 
He  was  elected,  and  his  great  popularity  is  shown  by 
his  being  the  only  Federal  candidate  on  the  city  ticket 
that  succeeded.  He  remained  in  Congress  until  1813, 
and  was  a  steady  opponent  of  the  war  and  the  bel- 
ligerent measures  of  the  administration.  HENRY  CLAY 
was  then  speaker  of  the  House ;  and  taking  great 
offence  at  some  remark  of  Mr.  MILNOR,  he  challenged 
him  to  a  duel.  Mr.  MILNOR  declined  the  proffered 
combat ;  for  he  would  not  consent  that  any  one  should 
presume  to  call  him  to  account  for  words  spoken  in 
debate,  and  he  also,  deemed  duelling  a  cowardly  prac- 
tice. Mr.  CLAY  did  not  press  the  matter  further  ;  and 
in  after-years  they  met  on  the  most  friendly  terms. 

On  becoming  Master  of  Lodge  No.  31,  Mr.  MILNOR 
became  a  member  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsyl- 
vania ;  and  although  he  had  at  the  time  been  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Order  but  about  two  years,  he  was  put  upon 
a  committee  to  revise  the  "  Eules  and  Regulations"  of 
the  Grand  Lodge  of  that  State.  In  1798  he  was 
elected  Senior  Grand  "Warden ;  in  1799  and  1800  he 
was  re-elected  to  the  same  office ;  in  1801  and  1803 
he  was  Deputy  Grand  Master ;  and  in  1805  he  was 
elected  Grand  Master  of  Pennsylvania,  and  continued 
to  hold  that  office  by  annual  re-election,  until  the  close 
of  1813.  During  his  Grand  Mastership  he  was  also, 
ex-qfficio,  Grand  High  Priest  of  the  Grand  Chapter  of 
Pennsylvania. 

No    Grand    Master    of    Pennsylvania  ever   took    a 
16 


362         WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 

deeper  interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  Grand  Lodge 
and  the  good  .of  Masonry  than  JAMES  MILNOK.  His 
charges  and  addresses  were  full  of  instruction,  and 
his  constant  theme  was  the  inculcation  of  charity  and 
brotherly  love.  During  his  Grand  Mastership  the 
old  Masonic  Hall  in  Chestnut-street  was  erected  ;  and 
on  its  dedication  on  the  24th  of  June,  1811,  he  deliv- 
ered, at  St.  John's  Church,  a  public  oration.  At  its 
close,  a  distinguished  friend  and  Brother  said  to  him, 
as  they  were  leaving  the  church  :  "  Why,  Right  Wor- 
shipful, you  are  cut  out  for  a  clergyman."  Little  did 
that  Brother  then  dream  that  the  thought  would  one 
day  be  realized. 

In  December,  1811,  Mr.  MILNOR  was  invited,  as 
Grand  Master  of  Pennsylvania,  to  visit  the  Lodge  at 
Alexandria,  Virginia,  of  which  WASHINGTON  was  for- 
merly Master.  On  this  occasion  Colonel  DENEALE,  the 
Master  of  the  Alexandria  Lodge,  welcomed  its  distin- 
guished visitor  with  an  address,  from  which  we  give  the 
following  extract : 

"  Lost  in  amazement  must  be  that  brother,  when  reflecting 
on  his  own  imperfection,  upon  finding. he  has  been  called, 
by  the  partiality  of  his  brethren,  to  a  station  where  once 
presided  the  ornament,  and  in  whom  centred  the  universal 
love  of  Masons;  who  condescended  to  level  himself  down 
from  his  exalted  and  towering  eminence,  and  square  him- 
self here  with  his  brethren  in  Masonry,  laboring  with  them 
till  midday,  and,  when  called  from  labor  to  refreshment, 
entering  into  all  the  festive  gayety,  and  innocent  amusement 
of  the  Craft,  even  in  his  latter  days;  and  although  that  fell 
destroyer,  Time,  has  mowed  down  and  removed  from  us, 
and,  we  hope,  exalted  to  the  high  degree  of  companions 


WASHINGTON'S   MASONIC   COMPEERS.  363 

with  him  in  the  Grand  Lodge  above,  most  of  the  brethren 
and  companions  of  his  juvenile  days,  yet  they  have  left  us 
an  example  worthy  of  imitation.  The  few  survivors,  by 
whom  the  sacred  charge  of  this  charter  was  committed  to 
our  care,  have  been  rendered  by  age  incapable  of  laboring 
with  us  in  the  meridian  sun.  They  have  retired  to  the 
shade,  rich  in  the  affection  of  their  younger  brethren,  and 
ornaments  to  that  society  in  which  they  move.  These  will 
undoubtedly  prove  ample  incentives  to  the  officers  who 
shall  ever  preside  here,  to  respect  religion;  walk  in  obedi- 
ence to  the  precepts  of  the  great  book  of  the  law  given  us 
as  the  rule  of  our  faith;  to  preside  with  parental  care;  ad- 
monish with  temperance;  check  vicious  propensities;  extend 
the  hand  of  charity  in  silence ;  and  induce  the  brethren  to 
labor  justly." 

To  tliis  Grand  Master  MILNOK  replied : 

"  WORSHIP*  UL  MASTER  AND  BRETHREN — The  associations 
connected  with  the  present  meeting,  are  of  the  very  oppo- 
site kinds.  To  receive  and  to  reciprocate  the  friendly  at- 
tentions of  my  brethren;  to  recognize  in  that  portion  of  them, 
whose  respected  call  has  brought  me  amongst  them,  the 
neighbors,  the  friends,  the  associates  of  our  sainted  WASH- 
INGTON; to  enjoy  communion  with  the  body  over  which  his 
mild  virtues  and  dignified,  yet  fraternal  manners,  have  so 
often  shed  a  lustre;  and  to  add  to  these  causes  of  gratu- 
lation,  the  pleasing  recollection  of  your  having  originally 
emanated  from  the  Grand  Lodge  with  whose  honor  and  inter- 
ests my  feelings  are  so  nearly  allied,  furnish  causes  of  exulta- 
tion and  delight,  which  can  be  felt  better  than  described.* 

*  The  Lodge  at  Alexandria  first  worked  under  a  charter  granted 
by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania  in  1783 ;  in  1788  it  took  a  new 
charter  from  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Virginia. 


364          WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 

"Yet  how  is  this  combination  of  enlivening  circumstances 
clouded  by  the  sad  remembrance  that  the  great  man,  whose 
labors  in  the  field  and  in  the  cabinet  purchased  independence 
and  all  its  blessings  for  his  country,  and  unfading  renown 
for  himself,  while  the  benevolent  graces  of  his  personal 
demeanor  in  the  bosom  of  the  Lodge  secured  the  fond  attach- 
ment of  his  brethren,  no  longer  adorns  the  East  of  this 
sacred  temple!  Ah!  my  brethren,  your  loss  is  not  a  com- 
mon one.  In  the  revolutions  of  the  political  scene,  the 
mind  is  lost  amongst  the  confused  whirl  of  many  objects, 
and  the  departure  of  even  a  mighty  orb  appears  but  little 
to  derange  the  general  system.  Even  WASHINGTON  seems 
almost  forgotten  by  his  country.  Not  so  in  the  Lodge. 
Your  hearts  will  find  around  you  a  thousand  mementoes  of 
the  singular  honor  and  happiness  you  have  enjoyed  in  work- 
ing as  fellow-laborers  with  a  man  who,  whilst  the  admiring 
eyes  of  a  universe  were  upon  him,  could,  with  the  most 
amiable  condescension,  descend  from  his  exalted  and  tower- 
ing eminence,  and  level  himself  with  his  brethren  in  Ma- 
sonry, sharing  with  them  in  their  toils,  and  entering  with 
them,  at  the  close  of  their  labors,  into  all  the  festive  gayety 
and  innocent  amusements  of  the  Craft. 

"  Permit  me,  worshipful  sir,  to  congratulate  this  Lodge 
on  tne  pre-eminent  honor  it  has  enjoyed,  in  being  so  nearly 
allied  to  this  illustrious  hero,  patriot,  and  statesman;  to 
pray  that  all  his  virtues  may  descend  upon  his  successors 
here ;  and  that  your  consequent  prosperity  may  be  lasting 
and  imperishable,  as  upon  the  bright  roll  of  Masonic  fame 
will  ever  stand  emblazoned  the  name  of  WASHINGTON  !" 

During  his  congressional  life,  his  thoughts  had  been 
much  occupied  upon  religious  subjects,  and  at  the 
close  of  his  term  he  determined  to  relinquish  the  pro- 
fession of  law,  and  devote  himself  to  the  Christian 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  •  COMPEEES.          365 

ministry.  This  involved  a  great  sacrifice  of  pecuniary 
interests  and  worldly  aspirations,  for  lie  was  on  the 
flood-tide  of  success,  and  political  fame  and  fortune 
seemed  to  be  within  his  reach.  He  hesitated  not, 
however,  at  what  seemed  to  him  the  call  of  duty,  and 
turned  his  bark  into  a  gentler  channel,  and  cheerfully 
looked  for  a  haven  of  rest  and  peace. 

He  was  accordingly  ordained  a  deacon  in  the  Epis- 
copal Church  in  1814;  in  1815  he  was  ordained  a  pres- 
byter, and  labored  for  a  year  as  assistant  minister 
in  the  Associated  Churches  in  Philadelphia  ;  and  in 
1816,  he  was  called  to  the  rectorship  of  St.  George's 
Church,  in  New  York  City.  Here,  in  his  new  field  of 
labor,  he  devoted  himself  to  the  promotion  of  Christian 
benevolence.  The  Bible  Society,  the  American  Tract 
Society,  the  Institution  for  the  Deaf  and  Dumb,  the 
Orphan  Asylum,  the  Home  for  aged  indigent  Females, 
and  many  kindred  associations,  felt  his  fostering  care. 

In  1830,  he  visited  England  as  a  delegate  to  the 
British  Bible  Society,  and  while  in  Europe,  he  visited 
also  France,  "Wales,  Ireland,  and  Scotland,  and  was 
everywhere  received  as  a  distinguished  American  phi- 
lanthropist. He  felt  that  his  mission  on  earth  was  to 
do  good,  and  few  labored  more  zealously,  or  more  suc- 
cessfully for  that  purpose. 

During  the  long  period  that  he  was  Grand  Master 
of  Pennsylvania,  his  whole  soul  had  been  absorbed  in 
the  inculcation  of  the  moral  precepts  of  Masonry. 
"When  called  by  his  divine  Master  to  fill  a  higher  post 
of  duty  as  a  Christian  minister,  he  but  labored  to  per- 
fect and  adorn  a  temple  upon  whose  foundation  walls 
he  had  wrought  in  the  lodge-room.  To  other  hands 


3G6         WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 

lie  committed  the  bands  of  workmen  who  still  wrought 
in  the  Masonic  temple,  that  he  might  devote  his  whole 
time  to  a  higher  calling.  He  did  not,  however,  for- 
get his  former  associations  with  his  Masonic  brethren. 
After  he  resigned  the  chair  of  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  Pennsylvania,  he  was  elected  Grand  Chaplain  of 
that  Body,  and  continued  to  perform  the  duties  of 
that  office  while  he  remained  in  Philadelphia,  and  a 
costly  and  appropriate  jewel  was  voted  him  by  the 
Grand  Lodge,  as  a  testimony  of  respect  and  attach- 
ment. After  he  removed  to  New  York  to  assume  the  rec- 
torship of  St.  George's  Church,  he  was  appointed  Grand 
Chaplain  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  State  of  New  York, 
and  continued  to  hold  the  office  for  some  years. 

During  the  anti-Masonic  excitement  a  few  years 
after,  he  was  importuned  to  renounce  his  connection 
with  the  Fraternity,  but  he  stood  firm.  A  brother 
clergyman  from  the  country  called  on  him  one  day  to 
consult  him  on  the  propriety  of  withdrawing  from  the 
Order.  He  stated  that  his  congregation  were  all  anti- 
Masons,  and  he  was  fearful,  even  if  he  did  not  lose  his 
situation,  that  his  usefulness  would  be  destroyed. 

"Do  you  wish  to  renounce  Masonry?"  asked  Dr. 
MILNOE. 

"No,"  was  the  reply,  "I  love  Masonry  too  well!" 

"  Then  do  as  I  do,"  was  the  rejoinder.  "  Put  down 
your  foot  firmly,  and  say,  'I  am  a  Mason,  and  am 
proud  of  it !'  and  if  any  one  asks  you  what  Masonry 
consists  in,  tell  them,  '  love  to  God,  and  good-will  to 
man!'" 

The  advice  was  followed,  and  the  country  clergyman 
kept  his  place  undisturbed 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEEES.          367 

Such  is  a  brief  sketch  of  the  life  of  Dr.  JAMES  Mn> 
NOR.  He  labored  zealously  in  his  Master's  work  until 
1845,  when  he  died  on  the  8th  of  April,  in  the  seventy- 
third  year  of  his  age.  After  his  death,  a  testimony  of 
respect  was  sent  to  the  vestry  of  St.  George's  Church 
by  his  old  Lodge  No.  3,  at  Philadelphia,  of  which  he 
had  been  a  member  nearly  fifty  years  before.  A  son 
of  his,  Dr.  WILLIAM  MTLNQB,  afterwards  became  Grand 
Master  of  New  York. 


308 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 


DR,  SAMUEL  SEABUBY, 

THE  FIRST  EPISCOPAL  BISHOP  IN  AMERICA. 

EEV.  SAMUEL  SEABURY,  D.  D.,  first  bishop  of  Con- 
necticut and  Rhode  Island,  and  also  the  first  conse- 
crated bishop  in  America,  was  born  near  New  London, 
Connecticut,  in  1728,  and  graduated  at  Yale  College  in 
1751.  His  father  had  been  a  Congregational  minister, 
but  changed  his  ecclesiastical  connection  and  became 
the  rector  of  the  Episcopal  church  at  Hempstead,  on 
Long  Island.  Here  his  son  SAMUEL  was  appointed  his 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS.          369 

assistant  and  catechist  as  early  as  1748,  with  a  salary 
of  ten  pounds  a  year. 

At  this  period  the  contest  between  Puritanism  and 
Prelacy  was  so  bitter  and  virulent,  in  the  Anglo- 
American  colonies,  that  it  became  the  key-note  to 
political  liberty.  A  "  society  for  propagating  the  Gos- 
pel in  foreign  parts"  had  been  established  in  England 
in  1701,  which  was  believed  by  the  Puritans  of  New 
England  to  be  a  mere  disguise  for  the  introduction 
into  America  of  lords  spiritual,  with  hated  tithes  and 
oppressive  hierarchy. 

After  young  SEABUKY  had  graduated  at  Yale,  he  was 
recommended  as  rector  for  a  vacant  church  in  New 
Brunswick,  New  Jersey,  and  in  1753  he  proceeded  to 
England  to  receive  orders  from  the  Episcopal  authori- 
ties there.  He  returned  to  America  in  the  following 
year, -as  rector  of  the  church  at  New  Brunswick ;  but 
in  1757  he  was  removed  to  the  church  at  Jamaica, 
Long  Island,  and  in  December,  1766,  was  instituted,  at 
his  own  request,  rector  of  St.  Peter's  church  in  "West- 
chester,  New  York. 

As  the  religious  and  political  controversies  of  that 
period  were  closely  interwoven,  many  of  the  Episcopal 
clergy  in  America,  and  among  them  Dr.  SEABURY, 
entered  strongly  into  the  field  of  polemic  warfare.  He 
wrote  political  pamphlets,  under  the  nom  de  plume  of 
"  A  Farmer."  These  were  widely  circulated,  and  gave 
great  offence  to  the  liberals,  or  "  Sons  of  Liberty,"  as 
they  were  called,  while  they  were  much  applauded  by 
the  loyalists. 

This  was  at  the  commencement  of   the  American 

Revolution,  and  a  party  of  Whigs,  from  Connecticut, 

16* 


370          WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 

who  were  bitterly  incensed  against  Dr.  SEABURY  and 
other  loyalists,  crossed  over  to  Westchester,  took  them 
prisoners,  and  carried  them  to  New  Haven ;  but  they 
were  soon  reclaimed  by  the  provincial  authorities  of 
New  York,  as  they  deemed  it  an  unwarrantable  action 
in  the  then  existing  state  of  affairs,  more  especially 
the  removal  and  imprisonment  of  Dr.  SEABURY,  "  con- 
sidering his  ecclesiastic  character,"  say  they,  "  which, 
perhaps,  is  venerated  by  many  friends  of  liberty,  and 
the  severity  that  has  been  used  towards  him  may  be 
subject  to  misconstructions  prejudicial  to  the  common 
cause." 

Dr.  SEABURY  was  accordingly  set  at  liberty,  and 
returned  to  his  parish ;  but  here  he  was  subject  to 
occasional  visits  from  armed  parties,  who  would  offer 
one  hundred  dollars  for  the  discovery  of  that  "  vilest  of 
miscreants,  'A  Farmer.'"  Independence  being  de- 
clared, he  considered  it  more  prudent  to  close  his 
church,  as  he  determined  there  should  be  "neither 
prayers  nor  sermon  until  he  could  pray  for  the  king." 

This  was  the  period  during  which  WASHINGTON  held 
possession  of  the  city  of  New  York,  and  nearly  all  the 
Episcopal  churches  in  the  northern  colonies  were 
closed  by  their  rectors,  as  their  customary  prayers  for 
the  king  and  royal  family  gave  great  offence  to  the 
patriots  of  that  day,  who  could  see  in  them  only  a 
stubborn  and  servile  adherence  to  English  tyranny. 
That  King  George  needed  prayers  they  probably  did 
not  doubt,  but  these  they  evidently  desired  should  bo 
for  his  conversion  rather  than  his  confirmation. 

When  WASHINGTON  evacuated  New  York,  after  the 
battle  of  Long  Island,  in  1776,  Dr.  SEABURY  withdrew 


WASHINGTON'S  -MASONIC  COMPEERS.          371 

within  the  British  lines,  and  was  engaged  by  General 
CLINTON,  in  furnishing  plans  and  maps  of  the  roads 
and  streams  in  the  county  of  Westchester,  to  assist 
the  British  army  in  their  movements.  He  also  served 
as  a  chaplain  in  a  regiment  of  loyalists,  commanded 
by  Colonel  FANNING,  caUed  the  "  King's  American 
Regiment."  This  regiment  was  stationed  in  New 
York,  and  Dr.  SEABUBY  continued  to  reside  there  until 
the  return  of  peace. 

Dr.  SEABUBY  was  a  Mason,  but  we  have  never  learned 
when  or  where  he  was  made  one.  Local  and  Military 
Lodges  existed  in  New  York  while  the  British  troops 
held  possession  of  that  city,  and  records  still  exist 
which  show  that  they  not  only  held  theii  stated 
communications,  but  that  the  Masonic  festivals  of  St. 
John  were  observed  by  them.  The  pre-revolutionary 
Provincial  Grand  Lodge  of  New  York,  having  become 
extinct  during  the  war,  a  new  Provincial  Grand  Lodge 
was  established  in  the  city  of  New  York  in  1782,  under 
a  warrant  from  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Ancients  in  Lon- 
don, bearing  date,  September  5,  1781,  and  before 
this  Grand  Lodge  Dr.  SEABUBY  delivered  an  address, 
December  27,  1782,  as  seen  by  the  following  record 
of  that  body. 

"  Resolved  unanimously,  that  the  thanks  of  this  Lodge  be 
given  to  our  Rev.  Bro.  Dr.  SEACURY,  for  his  sermon  delivered 
this  day,  before  this  and  other  Lodges,  convened  for  the 
celebration  of  St.  John  the  Evangelist. 

"  That  tnc  thanks  of  this  Lodge  be  presented  to  Rev.  Dr. 
INGLIS,  rector  of  New  York,  for  the  very  polite  aud  obliging 
manner  in  which  he  has  accommodated  this  and  other  Lodges 


872          WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 

with  the  use  of  St.  Paul's  chapel,  for  the  celebration  of  Di- 
vine services  this  day." 

In  the  following  June,  the  "  Loyal  American  Kegi- 
ment,"  of  which  Dr.  SEABURY  was  chaplain,  received  a 
warrant  for  a  new  Military  Lodge,  and  of  this,  it  is 
probable,  he  was  also  a  member. 

In  1784,  he  went  to  England  to  obtain  consecration 
as  a  bishop,  but  meeting  with  some  difficulties  at  the 
hands  of  the  English  dignitaries,  he  proceeded  to  Scot- 
land, where  he  was  consecrated  at  Aberdeen,  in  Novem- 
ber, by  some  non-juring  bishops,  as  the  first  bishop 
of  America.  He  returned  to  this  country  and  settled 
in  New  London,  near  his  native  town,  as  the  first 
bishop  of  Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island,  and  con- 
tinued to  discharge  his  duties  as  such  in  an  exemplar}7 
manner  until  his  death.  He  died  on  the  25th  of  Feb- 
ruary, 1796.  His  monument  stands  in  the  churchyard 
at  New  London,  bearing  this  inscription  : 

"  Here  lyeth  the  body  of  SAMUEL  SEABURY,  D.  D.,  Bishop 
of  Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island,  who  departed  from  this 
transitory  scene,  February  25th,  Anno  Domini  1796,  in  the 
sixty-eighth  year  of  his  age,  and  the  twelfth  of  his  Episcopal 
consecration. 

"  Ingenious  without  pride,  learned  without  pedantry,  good 
without  severity,  he  was  duly  qualified  to  discharge  the 
duties  of  the  Christian  and  the  bishop.  In  the  pulpit  he 
enforced  religion  ;  in  his  conduct  he  exemplified  it.  The 
poor  he  assisted  with  his  charity;  the  ignorant  he  blessed 
with  his  instruction.  The  friend  of  men,  he  ever  designed 
their  good;  the  enen^  of  vice,  he  ever  opposed  it.  Chris- 
tian! dost  thou  aspire  to  happiness?  SEABURY  has  showu 
the  way  that  leads  to  it." 


373 

Dr.  SEABURY  received  his  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divin- 
ity from  the  college  of  Oxford  in  England,  and  he  be- 
came entitled  to  a  fund  of  one  thousand  pounds,  which 
had  been  left  by  Archbishop  TENNISON  in  his  will,  in 
1715,  towards  maintaining  the  first  bishop  who  should 
be  settled  in  America.  This  fund  was  afterwards  in- 
creased by  an  equal  amount,  left  in  the  same  manner, 
for  that  purpose,  by  Archbishop  SECKER  ;  but  we  do 
not  know  whether  Dr.  SEABURY  ever  received  or  applied 
for  it. 

That  he  continued  his  support  to  the  Masonic  Fra- 
ternity, until  his  death,  is  seen  from  a  sermon  which 
he  preached  at  the  installation  of  Sumerset  Lodge 
at  Norwich,  Connecticut,  on  the  24th  of  June,  1795, 
before  a  special  session  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  that 
State.  This  he  published,  with  the  following  dedica- 
tion to  WASHINGTON  : 

"To  the  Most  Worshipful  President  of  the  UNITED  STATES 
OF  AMERICA,  the  following  discourse  is  respectfully  inscribed, 
"By  his  affectionate  brother, 

"  And  most  devoted  servant, 

"  SAMUEL  SEABURY." 

From  the  above  dedication,  we  are  induced  to  believe 
that  in  his  later  years  this  distinguished  bishop  and 
good  brother  prayed  as  fervently  and  heartily  for 
GEORGE  WASHINGTON,  as  in  former  years  for  the  royal 
GEORGE  of  England. 

Bishop  SEABURY  was  succeeded,  in  1797,  by  the 
Right  Reverend  ABRAHAM  JARVIS,  D.  D.,  who  was  also 
a  Mason.  Dr.  JARVIS  was  a  native  of  Norwalk.  He 


was  born  May  5,  1739,  graduated  at  Yale,  in  1761, 
and  became  rector  of  the  Episcopal  church  in  Middle- 
town  about  1764.  There  he  remained  until  after  he 
was  consecrated  as  bishop  in  the  place  of  Dr.  SEABURY. 
In  1798  he  was  appointed  Grand  Chaplain  of  tho 
Grand  Lodge  of  Connecticut.  In  1799  he  left  Middle- 
town,  and  removed  to  Cheshire,  and  from  thence  to 
New  Haven,  in  1803,  where  he  died,  May  3,  1813,  at 
the  age  of  seventy-three  years.  The  first  Episcopal 
ordination  by  Bishop  SEABURY  was  that  of  the  Reverend 
ASHBEL  BALDWIN,  in  1785.  It  was  the  first  Episcopal 
ordination  in  the  United  States.  Mr.  BALDWIN  was 
also  a  graduate  of  Yale  College,  and  a  zealous  Mason. 
He  was  the  first  Grand  Chaplain  of  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  Connecticut,  and  interested  himself  much  in  the 
prosperity  of  the  Craft.  He  died  at  Rochester,  New 
York,  on  the  8th  of  February,  18-16,  at  the  age  of  eighty - 
nine  years. 


GENERAL  RUFHS  PUTNAM, 

FIRST    GRAND    MASTER    OF    OHIO. 

FEW  names  on  the  pages  of  our  country's  history 
are  suggestive  of  purer  patriotism  and  bolder  deeds 
than  that  of  PUTNAM.  Two  who  bore  it  have  rendered 
it  immortal  in  the  historic  annals  of  America.  These 
were  ISRAEL  and  BUFUS,  both  officers  of  the  Kevolution, 
and  both  Masons.  KUFUS,  who  is  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  became  the  First  Grand  Master  of  Ohio. 


376          WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 

He  was  born  in  the  town  of  Sutton,  Worcester 
County,  Massachusetts,  on  the  9th  of  April,  1738.  He 
lost  his  father  before  he  was  seven  years  old,  and  went 
to  live  with  his  maternal  grandfather  in  Danvers, 
where  he  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  a  district-school  for 
two  years.  At  this  time  his  mother  married  again  and 
took  him  home.  His  stepfather  was  an  illiterate  man, 
and  desired  to  keep  all  over  whom  he  had  control  in 
the  same  situation.  Young  PUTNAM  was,  therefore, 
denied  all  further  opportunities  for  education  while 
under  his  roof.  Before  he  reached  his  sixteenth  year 
his  stepfather  died,  and  his  mother  apprenticed  him 
to  a  millwright.  In  his  indentures  no  provision  was 
made  for  his  education,  and  his  master  was  as  indiffer- 
ent to  his  mental  improvement  as  his  stepfather  had 
been. 

But  although  the  path  of  science  was  thus  hedged  up 
to  him,  he  sought  every  means  to  improve  his  mind  with 
useful  knowledge.  He  had  tasted  the  Pierian  spring 
during  the  time  he  lived  with  his  grandfather,  and  had 
learned  to  read  with  considerable  accuracy.  While 
with  his  stepfather,  who  kept  a  public  house,  he  gained 
much  information  by  listening  to  the  conversation  of 
travellers  to  whose  wants  he  was  required  to  attend  ; 
and  the  little  sums  of  money  they  sometimes  gave  him 
for  his  obliging  attention  to  their  wants,  were  ex- 
pended by  him  in  the  purchase  of  books.  A  thirst  for 
knowledge  thus  grew  so  strong  in  his  mind,  that 
during  his  apprenticeship  every  leisure  hour  was  de- 
voted to  the  elementary  branches  of  an  English  edu- 
cation. When  the  toils  of  the  day  were  over,  he  sought 
retirement  for  study ;  and  when  the  morning  sun  arose, 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC   COMPEERS.          377 

he  resumed  his  labors  with  a  mind  attentive  to  his 
duties,  but  still  free  to  improve  itself  by  reflection  on 
the  lessons  he  had  learned  the  evening  before. 

In  the  prosecution  of  his  trade,  a  knowledge  of 
mathematics  was  very  serviceable  to  him,  particularly 
that  which  was  connected  with  geometry ;  and  it  was  not 
long  before  a  knowledge  of  circles,  squares,  and  angles 
enabled  him  to  draft  plans,  and  comprehend  the  most 
complex  machinery  on  which  his  labor  was  employed. 
While  he  was  engaged  in  his  apprenticeship,  the  old 
French  and  Indian  war  commenced,  and  the  accounts 
he  heard  from  time  to  time  of  the  incidents  of  its  cam- 
paigns, awoke  in  his  mind  a  military  ardor,  and  he 
longed  to  be  like  his  brother  ISRAEL,  an  actor  in  those 
exciting  scenes. 

At  the  age  of  nineteen,  he  therefore  enlisted  as  a  pri- 
vate soldier  in  the  provincial  army.  His  commander 
was  Captain  EBENEZER  LEONARD,  whose  company  con- 
sisted of  one  hundred  men,  many  of  whom  had  been 
young  PUTNAM'S  associates.  They  were  soon  re- 
quired to  rendezvous  on  the  Hudson  Kiver  a  few  miles 
below  Albany  ;  and  the  young  soldier,  who  kept  a  daily 
journal,  states  the  praiseworthy  fact,  that  his  captain 
prayed  morning  and  evening  with  his  men,  and  on  each 
Sabbath  read  a  sermon  to  them.  The  details  of  his 
military  adventures  during  this  war  are  far  too  numer- 
ous for  this  sketch.  He  was  in  military  service  four 
years,  and  shared  with  his  comrades  in  all  their  priva- 
tions and  dangers. 

When  the  term  of  the  first  enlistment  of  his  com- 
pany expired,  the  British  commander  sought  to  pro- 
long their  services  by  arbitrary  measures.  The  men. 


378          WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 

however,  left  him  in  a  manner  not  justifiable  by  military 
rules,  although  they  were  entitled  to  an  honorable  dis- 
charge. Mr.  PUTNAM  in  after-life  saw  and  condemned 
the  mistake.  In  their  homeward  march  they  fled  like 
fugitives,  and  as  it  was  in  the  depth  of  winter,  suffered 
much  from  hunger  and  cold  ;  but  at  last  they  reached 
their  homes.  The  military  ardor  of  Mr.  PUTNAM  wa? 
not  all  expended  by  one  campaign,  and  in  a  few  month* 
he  enlisted  for  another,  and  at  its  close  for  still  an- 
other ;  but  in  1761  he  left  the  army,  married  a  wife, 
and  engaged  in  farming,  mill-building  and  surveying. 
He  was  now  twenty-three  years  of  age  ;  and  with  a 
body  hardened  by  toil,  and  a  mind  enriched  by  study 
and  observation,  he  resumed  his  peaceful  avocations, 
but  at  the  same  time  devoted  all  his  leisure  moments 
to  the  acquisition  of  more  knowledge  from  books. 

In  1773,  Mr.  PUTNAM  had  become  so  proficient  as  a 
surveyor,  that  he  received  an  appointment  from  a  land 
company  to  explore  and  survey  some  lands  in  Florida 
which  had  been  granted  to  troops  engaged  in  the  pro- 
vincial war.  He  was  accompanied  in  this  expedition 
by  his  brother  ISRAEL  and  a  Captain  Exos.  He  was 
kindly  treated  by  the  governor  of  Florida,  appointed 
by  him  deputy  surveyor  of  that  province,  spent  eight 
months  there,  and  then  returned  home.  The  rich  lands 
of  the  sunny  South,  which  have  since  produced  all  the, 
varied  productions  of  that  flowery  clime,  were  then 
dense  forests,  or  thick-grown  cane-brakes,  where  no 
path  was  found  except  the  Indian  trail,  or  the  track  of 
the  wild  animals  that  made  them  their  haunts.  But 
on  the  report  of  Mr.  PUTNAM  of  their  climate,  fertility, 
and  beauty,  several  hundred  families  from  New  Eng- 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  -  COMPEERS.          379 

land  emigrated  there  to  form  a  settlement.  They 
were  doomed  to  disappointment,  for  before  their  arrival 
the  land-office  was  closed  against  them. 

About  two  years  after  Mr.  Putnam's  return  from  the 
"  Yazoo  country,"  the  war  of  the  Eevolution  com- 
menced, and  he  left  his  home  and  rural  pursuits  to  join 
the  gallant  bands  of  New  England's  sturdy  yeomanry, 
who  were  arming  in  defence  of  their  rights.  He 
entered  the  army  at  Cambridge  as  a  lieutenant-colonel, 
soon  after  the  battle  of  Lexington,  and  was  stationed 
at  Eoxbury,  in  General  THOMAS'  division.  The  British 
army  had  at  that  time  possession  of  Boston,  and  Col- 
onel PUTNAM  was  employed  by  his  commander  in  plan- 
ning and  constructing  lines  of  defence  for  the  provin- 
cial troops  who  surrounded  the  city.  He  at  this  time 
professed  no  skill  as  a  military  engineer  ;  but  the  lines 
were  surveyed  and  defences  erected  with  such  good 
judgment,  that  when  General  WASHINGTON  took  com- 
mand of  the  army  a  few  weeks  afterwards,  and  he  and 
General  LEE  viewed  the  works  of  the  amateur  engineer, 
they  received  their  highest  commendation. 

General  WASHINGTON  at  once  employed  PUTNAM  to 
draw  a  map  of  the  enemy's  fortifications  at  Boston, 
and  all  the  American  defences  around  it,  and  from 
this  he  arranged  his  plans  for  future  action.  So  great 
was  WASHINGTON'S  confidence  in  the  good  judgment  of 
this  self-taught  engineer,  that  he  often  consulted  him 
before  he  determined  on  changes  in  the  position  of  his 
forces. 

He  received  from  Congress,  in  August,  1776,  a  com- 
mission as  engineer,  with  his  previous  rank  as  colonel, 
and  was  the  chief-engineer  until  1778.  He  was  then 


380          WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 

succeeded  by  KOSCIUSKO,  the  brave  Polander, 
frequently  consulted  him  in  planning  works  of  defence. 
It  was  to  PUTNAM'S  engineering  skill  that  the  military 
works  at  West  Point  owed  much  of  their  efficiency, 
for  he  changed  the  plan  of  construction  that  had  been 
adopted  by  foreign  engineers.  He  was  principally  en- 
gaged as  an  engineer  during  the  war,  but  at  one  time, 
in  1778,  was  in  command  as  colonel  of  troops  in  the 
northern  division  of  the  army.  By  both  WASHINGTON 
and  LAFAYETTE  he  was  highly  esteemed  as  an  officer 
and  a  man.  With  both  he  became  connected  in  the 
fraternal  bonds  of  Masonic  fellowship.  He  was  not  a 
Mason  when  he  entered  the  army  of  the  Revolution, 
but  he  became  one  in  the  summer  of  1779. 

The  festival  of  St.  John  the  Baptist  was  celebrated 
by  the  Masonic  brethren  in  the  army  that  year  upon 
the  Hudson,  near  West  Point,  and  WASHINGTON  joined, 
as  was  his  custom,  with  the  Military  Lodge  there 
on  that  occasion.  Many  other  distinguished  officers 
of  the  American  army  were  present  as  Masons,  and 
the  ceremonies  were  highly  impressive.  Two  days 
after  this,  Colonel  PUTNAM  applied  to  the  lodge  under 
whose  charter  these  proceedings  were  held,  to  be  made 
a  Mason.  It  was  the  "American  Union  Lodge," 
which  was  instituted  in  the  Connecticut  line  of  the 
army  at  Eoxbury,  in  1776.  Colonel  PUTNAM'S  ap- 
plication was  favorably  received,  and,  at  the  same 
meeting  of  the  lodge  at  which  it  was  presented,  he 
was  made  a  Mason.  It  was  the  26th  of  July,  1779. 
On  the  26th  of  August  he  was  made  a  Fellow  Craft, 
and  on  the  6th  of  September  a  Master  Mason.  The 
place  of  meeting  of  the  lodge  when  he  received  his 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS.         381 

degrees,  was  at  the  "  Robinson  House,"  on  the  east 
bank  of  the  Hudson,  about  two  miles  below  West 
Point.  The  fortunes  of  this  lodge  during  the  Revolu- 
tion, and  after  its  close,  have  a  highly  romantic  in- 
terest, and  are  worthy  of  a  place  in  the  history  of 
our  country.  Colonel  PUTNAM'S  connection  with  it  was 
continued  to  the  close  of  the  war,  and  we  afterwards 
find  him  cherishing  its  privileges  and  maintaining  its 
chartered  rights  on  the  banks  of  the  Ohio,  as  the 
pioneer  of  Christianity  and  civilization. 

As  the  dangers  of  the  country  lessened,  in  a  like 
degree  were  lessened  the  exertions  of  the  different 
States  to  pay  their  troops,  and  early  in  1783,  Colonel 
PUTNAM  contemplated  a  retirement  from  the  army  in 
consequence  of  a  delinquency  by  the  State  of  Massa- 
chusetts in  providing  funds  for  this  purpose.  Gen- 
eral WASHINGTON  sympathized  with  his  distressed  offi- 
cers and  soldiers,  but  used  every  means  to  persuade 
them  to  continue  in  the  field  till  peace  should  be  con- 
firmed. When  he  heard  of  the  contemplated  retire- 
ment of  Colonel  PUTNAM,  he  wrote  him  an  affectionate 
letter,  proffering  him  promotion  in  the  army,  and  he 
soon  after  received  a  commission  as  brigadier-general. 
This  office  he  accepted,  more  on  account  of  his  personal 
regard  for  WASHINGTON  than  for  its  honors  or  emolu- 
ments, and  he  honored  it  with  devotion  to  his  country 
till  the  army  was  disbanded.  After  this,  he  was  con- 
sulted by  WASHINGTON  as  to  the  best  manner  of 
arranging  a  military  peace  establishment  for  the 
United  States.  He  was  also  a  prominent  member  of 
the  Society  of  the  Cincinnati. 

From  the  close  of   1783  to  the  commencement  of 


382          WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  coMri;i:i;,-. 

1788,  General  PUTNAM  was  engaged  in  organizing  a 
company  to  settle  on  the  far  oif  "but  fertile  banks  of 
the  Ohio,  and  in  the  spring  of  1788  he  went  there  as 
general  agent  of  a  New  England  company,  accom- 
panied by  about  forty  settlers.  They  pitched  their 
tents  at  the  mouth  of  the  Muskingum  River,  formed  a 
settlement  there,  and  called  it  Marietta.  Here  sus- 
pecting hostility  from  the  neighboring  Indians,  they 
built  a  fort,  and  called  it  Campus  Martins.  They  also 
planted  that  year  one  hundred  and  thirty  acres  of 
corn.  This  was  the  beginning  of  that  tide  of  emigra- 
tion to  the  Ohio  which  soon  spread  over  all  its  rich 
valleys  ;  and  General  PUTNAM  may  justly  be  regarded 
as  the  father  of  its  pioneers. 

Soon  after  the  first  settlement  of  Marietta,  the  old 
charter  of  the  "American  Union  Lodge,"  which  Gen- 
eral PUTNAM  had  joined  in  1779,  was  used  to  convene 
a  Lodge  in  that  place.  JONATHAN  HART,  the  last  Mas- 
ter of  the  Lodge  during  the  Be  volution,  and  many  of 
its  members,  had  removed  since  the  war  to  the  new 
settlements  on  the  Ohio,  and  here  they  reopened  their 
Lodge.  Of  this  Lodge  at  Marietta,  General  PUTNAM 
became  the  first  Junior  "Warden.  In  1789,  President 
WASHINGTON  appointed  him  judge  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  Northwest  territory,  and  in  1792,  he  was 
appointed  a  brigadier-general  under  General  WAYNE. 
In  1796  he  was  made  surveyor-general  of  the  United 
States,  and  held  that  office  until  the  accession  of  Mr. 
JEFFERSON  to  the  presidency  in  1804.  He  was  also 
a  member  of  the  convention  that  formed  a  con- 
stitution for  the  State  of  Ohio  in  1802.  In  every 
situation  of  honor  or  trust  with  which  he  was  honored 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS.          383 

by  his  country,  he  was  found  capable,  faithful,  and 
true. 

General  PUTNAM  still  continued  an  officer  or  active 
member  of  the  "  American  Union  Lodge,"  and  when, 
in  1808,  Lodges  had  been  multiplied  in  that  new  State, 
and  a  convention  met  to  form  a  Grand  Lodge  there, 
they  unanimously  made  choice  of  him  as  their  first 
Grand  Master.  He  never  enjoyed  the  honor,  however, 
of  presiding  over  that  body,  for  he  was  then  three- 
score and  ten  years  old,  and  the  infirmities  of  age  were 
upon  him.  At  the  next  annual  communication,  there- 
fore, he  resigned  the  office,  by  the  following  letter  to 
the  Grand  Lodge. 

"  To  THE  GRAND  LODGE  OF  THE  MOST  ANCIENT  AND  HONORABLE 
SOCIETY  OF  FREE  AND  ACCEPTED  MASONS  FOR  THE  STATE 
OF  OHIO,  YOUR  BROTHER  SENDETH  Greeting : 

"  It  was  with  high  sensibility  and  gratitude  I  received 
the  information  that  the  Grand  Convention  of  Masons  at 
Chilicothe,  in  January  last,  elected  me  to  the  office  of 
Grand  Master  of  our  Most  Ancient  and  Honorable  Fra- 
ternity. But  however  sensibly  I  feel  the  high  honor  done 
me  by  the  Convention,  and  am  disposed  to  promote  the  inter- 
ests of  the  Craft  in  general,  and  in  this  State  in  particular, 
I  must  decline  the  appointment.  My  sun  is  far  past  its 
meridian,  and  is  almost  set.  A  few  sands  only  remain  in 
my  glass.  I  am  unable  to  undergo  the  necessary  labors  of 
that  high  and  important  office.  I  am  unable  to  make  you 
a  visit  at  this  time,  without  a  sacrifice  and  hazard  of  health 
which  prudence  forbids. 

"  May  the  great  Architect,  under  whose  all-seeing  eye" 
all  Masons  profess  to  labor,  have  you  in  his  holy  keeping, 
that  when  our  labors  here  are  finished,  we  may,  through 


384 


tlic  merits  of  Him  that  was  dead  but  is  now  alive  and  lives 
forevermore,  be  admitted  into  that  temple,  not  made  with 
hands,  eternal  in  the  heavens.  Amen.  So  prays  your  friend 
and  brother, 

"Rurus  PUTNAM. 
"  MARIETTA,  December  26, 1808." 

With  this  letter,  so  full  of  touching  tenderness,  wo 
close  our  Masonic  record  of  General  PUTNAM.  He  sur- 
vived for  many  years,  and  when,  upon  the  first  day  of 
May,  1824,  he  died,  all  said  a  good  man  had  gone  tc 
his  rest.  "With  him  it  was  indeed  a  rest  to  which  he 
had  long  looked  forward,  confidently  believing,  that 
when  death  divested  him  of  his  earthly  robes,  his 
Saviour,  in  whom  he  trusted,  would  stand  by  him  to 
reinvest  him  with  the  robes  of  immortality. 


AARON  OGDEN, 

GOVERNOR   OF    NEW   JERSEY. 

AMONG  the  gallant  sons  of  New  Jersey  whose  patriot- 
ism was  thoroughly  tried  during  the  Revolution,  and 
who  were  rewarded  with  high  civil  office  by  that  State 
after  its  close,  stands  the  name  of  AAEON  OGDEN.  He 
was  born  at  Elizabethtown  on  the  3d  of  December, 
1756,  and  graduated  at  Princeton/in  1773,  at  seven- 

17 


386          WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 

teen  years  of  age.  Princeton  College  was  at  that  time 
the  nursery  of  patriots,  and  Doctor  WITHERSPOON,  its 
president,  had  the  proud  satisfaction,  when  the  Kevolu- 
tion  commenced,  of  seeing  many  of  his  pupils  and 
graduates  enrolled  in  the  service  of  their  country. 
Among  these  was  AARON  OGDEN,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch. 

One  of  the  early  revolutionary  incidents  in  which  he 
bore  a  part,  was  the  capture  of  a  British  vessel  called 
the  "Blue  Mountain  Yalley,"  lying  off  Sandy  Hook, 
and  bringing  her  into  Elizabethport  in  the  winter  of 
1775-6.  At  what  time  he  entered  the  regular  army  we 
have  no  records  to  determine.  He  received  a  commis- 
sion in  the  spring  of  1777  (then  in  his  twenty-first 
year),  in  the  First  New  Jersey  regiment,  and  continued 
in  the  service  during  the  war.  He  was  with  General 
SULLIVAN  in  the  attack  upon  the  Tory  forces  on  Staten 
Island  in  August  of  1777,  at  the  battle  of  Brandywine 
in  the  following  month,  and  at  the  battle  of  Monmouth 
in  the  summer  of  1778.  In  this  last  battle  he  held  the 
rank  of  a  brigade-major,  but  served  as  assistant  aid-de- 
camp to  Lord  STERLING.  s 

In  1779  he  accompanied  General  SULLIVAN  in  his  ex- 
pedition against  the  Indians  of  New  York,  in  the  capa- 
city of  aid-de-camp  to  General  MAXWELL.  In  1780  he 
was  at  the  battle  of  Springfield,  in  New  Jersey,  where 
he  had  a  horse  shot  under  him  while  on  the  field  as  aid 
of  General  MAXWELL.  When  that  general  resigned  his 
commission  in  August  of  that  year,  OGDEN  was  ap- 
pointed to  a  captaincy  of  light  infantry  under  LA- 
FAYETTE. While  in  this  capacity,  he  was  Entrusted  by 
WASHINGTON,  his  commander-in-chief,  with  the  execu- 


WASHINGTON'S   MASONIC   COMPEEBS.  387 

tion  of  a  delicate  commission  relating  to  ANDRE  and 
ARNOLD.  It  was  while  Major  ANDRE  was  under  sen- 
tence of  death  as  a  British  spy,  and  ARNOLD,  a  fugitive 
for  his  treachery,  was  in  the  British  camp,  that  feel- 
ings of  strong  commiseration  for  ANDRE,  and  a  greater 
desire  to  inflict  a  merited  punishment  on  ARNOLD  than 
on  him,  induced  General  WASHINGTON  to  desire  to  ex- 
change the  condemned  spy  for  the  arch-traitor.  He 
well  knew  that  a  formal  proposition  to  this  effect  would 
not  be  received  by  the  British  commander ;  he  there- 
fore inclosed  an  official  account  of  the  trial  of  ANDRE, 
together  with  a  letter  from  the  condemned  officer, 
in  a  package,  and  under  a  flag  of  truce  transmitted 
them  to  the  British  headquarters  at  New  York.  The 
execution  of  this  trust  was  committed  to  Captain 
OGDEN.  The  package  he  carried  contained  no  allusion 
to  a  meditated  exchange  of  ANDRE  for  ARNOLD,  but  he 
was  instructed  to  incidentally  suggest  to  the  officer  to 
whom  he  might  deliver  the  package  the  idea  that  such 
an  exchange  might  perhaps  be  made. 

Captain  OGDEN  proceeded  to  execute  his  trust,  and, 
as  was  anticipated,  while  awaiting  at  the  lines  of  the 
British  army  near  New  York  for  an  answer  to  his 
communications,  the  conversation  turned  upon  the  un- 
fortunate ANDRE. 

"Is  there  no  way  to  save  his  life?"  asked  the  British 
officer. 

"  Perhaps  it  might  be  done,"  replied  OGDEN,  "  if  Sir 
HENRY  CLINTON  would  give  up  ARNOLD." 

He  told  the  officer,  however,  that  he  had  no  assurance 
from  YVASHINGTON  to  this  effect,  but  he  believed  it  might 
be  effected  if  desired.  "  The  British  officer  immediately 


388         WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 

left  Captain  OGDEN,  and  hastened  to  General  CLINTON 
with  the  suggestion ;  but  military  honor  would  not  per- 
mit, what,  perhaps,  both  parties  would  gladly  have  done, 
had  not  military  rules  forbid.  A  request  for  a  parley 
was,  however,  sent  from  CLINTON  to  WASHINGTON  by 
Captain  OGDEN,  and  three  British  officers  of  rank  re- 
paired under  a  flag  of  truce  near  the  American  head- 
quarters, to  confer  with  a  corresponding  deputation  of 
American  officers ;  but  General  GREENE  who  headed  the 
American  deputation,  refused  to  confer  with  the  British 
officers  except  as  private  gentlemen,  as  he  assured  them 
that  the  case  of  an  acknowledged  spy  admitted  of  no 
military  negotiation,  and  the  conference  ended.  The 
unfortunate  ANDRE  paid  the  penalty  of  a  spy,  while  his 
more  vile  accessary,  was  permitted  to  hold  a  military 
commission  in  the  British  army. 

Captain  OGDEN  afterwards  accompanied  LAFAYETTE 
in  his  memorable  campaign  in  Virginia,  in  1781.  At 
the  siege  of  Yorktown  he  gallantly  led  his  company, 
in  storming  the  left  r.edoubt  of  the  enemy,  and  received 
from  WASHINGTON  his  marked  approbation.  The  mili- 
tary operations  of  the  American  contest  were  virtually 
closed  after  the  capture  of  CORNWALLIS,  but  the  army 
was  not  disbanded  until  peace  was  confirmed.  During 
this  interim  a  number  of  new  Masonic  lodges  were 
formed  in  the  army,  and  of  one  of  them  Captain 
OGDEN  was  a  Warden.  He  had  previously  been  made  a 
Mason,  but  of  the  time  and  place  we  have  no  record. 
On  the  2d  of  September,  1782,  the  records  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania  state : 

"  A  petition,  signed  by  twenty  brethren,  officers  in  the 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEEKS.          389 

Jersey  Line,  was  read,  praying  for  a  warrant  to  hold  a 
travelling  Military  Lodge,  to  be  attached  to  said  line. 

"  The  same  was  unanimously  granted.  The  proposed 
officers  were  the  Rev.  ANDREW  HUNTER,  for  Master  ;  JOSEPH 
J.  ANDERSON,  Senior  Warden,  and  Captain  AARON  OGDEN, 
Junior  Warden. — To  be  numbered  36." 

After  the  close  of  the  war  Captain  OGDEN  studied 
law,  and  rose  rapidly  in  the  legal  profession.  He  was 
popular  with  the  people,  and  in  1800  was  one  of 
the  presidential  electors ;  a  state  senator,  in  1801 ;  and, 
in  1812,  he  was  elected  governor  of  the  State  of  New 
Jersey.  He  died  in  1839,  at  the  age  of  eighty-three 
years. 

The  Eev.  ANDREW  HUNTER,  the  Master  of  the  Mili- 
tary Lodge  of  which  Governor  OGDEN  was  Warden, 
became  after  the  war  a  chaplain  in  the  navy,  and  died 
at  Washington  in  February,  1823,  at  the  age  of 
seventy-five  years. 


GENERAL  MORDECAI  GIST, 

AN  OFFICER  OF  THE  REVOLUTION  AND  GRAND  MASTER  OF  SOUTH 
CAROLINA. 

GENERAL  MORDECAI  GIST  was  one  of  the  patriots  of 
the  Revolution  whose  name  is  alike  honorably  con- 
nected with  the  annals  of  Masonry  and  with  the  his- 
tory of  our  country.  His  ancestors  emigrated  from 
England  to  Maryland  at  an  early  day,  and  settled  in 
Baltimore.  He  received  a  mercantile  education,  and 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS.  391 

was  employed  in  that  business  when  the  war  of  the 
Eevolution  commenced.  It  is  not  known  at  what  age, 
or  in  what  lodge,  he  became  a  Mason.  Two  lodges  of 
Ancient  York  Masons  were  chartered  in  the  city  of 
Baltimore,  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania,  in 
1770,  and  it  is  probable  he  was  made  in  one  of  these, 
as  he  had  risen  to  the  rank  of  "Worshipful  Master 
previous  to  the  Eevolution. 

When  the  war  of  the  Eevolution  commenced,  the 
young  men  of  Baltimore  formed  an  independent  com- 
pany, of  which  they  elected  MORDECAI  GIST  as  captain. 
This  was  the  first  military  organization  in  Maryland  for 
the  defence  of  American  liberty.  In  1776,  Mr.  GIST  was 
appointed  major  of  a  battalion  of  Maryland  regulars, 
and  bravely  led  his  men  in  the  terrible  conflict  on 
Long  Island  in  that  year.  For  his  bravery  on  that 
occasion  he  was  commissioned  as  a  colonel  in  1777 ;  and 
in  1778,  while  in  command  of  his  Maryland  troops,  at 
Locust  Hill,  near  New  York,  he  was  attacked  by  the 
combined  forces  of  Generals  SIMCOE,  EMERICK,  and 
TAELETON,  of  the  British  army,  but  he  discovered  their 
approach  in  time  to  escape  from  their  hands.  He  was 
engaged  in  the  battle  of  Paoli,  where  the  terrible  mas- 
sacre of  American  troops  took  place,  and  distinguished 
himself  soon  after  at  the  battles  of  Germantown  and 
Whitemarsh. 

In  January  of  1779  he  was  appointed  by  Congress  a 
brigadier-general  in  the  Continental  army,  and  was 
honored  with  the  command  of  the  second  Maryland 
brigade.  In  the  winter  of  1779-80  he  was  encamped 
with  his  command  at  the  general  headquarters  of  the 
American  army  at  Morristown  in  New  Jersey. 


392          WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS. 

While  in  their  winter-quarters  here,  the  Masonic 
Brethren  in  the  army  celebrated  the  festival  of  St. 
John  the  Evangelist.  The  meeting  was  held  under  the 
charter  of  the  American  Union  Lodge,  and  WASHINGTON 
and  a  large  number  of  distinguished  officers  of  the 
American  army,  who  were  Masons,  attended  on  the 
occasion.  The  Masonic  Lodges  of  America  had  for- 
merly all  owed  their  existence  to,  and  been  dependent 
upon,  the  Grand  Lodges  of  Great  Britain ;  but  the  mis- 
fortunes of  war  had  caused  all  intercourse  to  cease  be- 
tween them  and  their  parent  head  ;  and  although  some 
provincial  Grand  Lodges  still  existed  in  this  country, 
they  were  regarded  but  as  the  subordinates  of  the 
Masonic  powers  in  Great  Britain  by  whom  they  were 
created. 

At  this  army  festival  of  the  Masonic  Brethren  in 
1779,  a  petition  was  presented,  setting  forth  the  condi- 
tion of  Masonry  in  the  new  political  state  of  the  coun- 
try, and  expressing  a  desire  that  a  general  union  of 
American  Masons  might  take  place  under  one  general 
Grand  Master  of  America.  A  committee  was  ap- 
pointed to  take  the  subject  into  consideration,  consist- 
ing of  distinguished  Masons  from  each  division  of  the 
army. 

The  Committee  met  in  convention  on  the  7th  of 
January,  1780,  and  chose  General  MORDECAI  GIST  as 
their  President,  and  General  OTHO  HOLLAND  WILLIAMS 
as  their  Secretary.  An  address  to  the  different  Grand 
Masters  of  the  United  States  was  drawn,  considered, 
and  adopted  on  the  occasion,  setting  forth  the  same 
general  views  as  those  embraced  in  the  petition  they 
were  called  on  to  consider,  and  asking  that  measures 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS.          393 

might  be  taken  to  secure  a  union  of  all  the  Lodges  of 
the  country  under  one  American  head.  Copies  of  this 
address  were  sent  to  the  different  Grand  Masters  in 
the  United  States ;  and  although  the  Convention  had 
delicately  forborne  to,  mention  the  name  of  WASHING- 
TON as  their  choice  for  General  Grand  Master,  yet  it 
was  well  understood  that  such  was  their  wish. 

In  the  following  spring,  General  GIST  was  sent  with 
his  command  to  assist  General  GATES  in  South  Caro- 
lina. "While  at  the  North,  he  and  the  Brethren  in  his 
troops  had  enjoyed  Masonic  privileges  in  the  different 
Masonic  Lodges  in  the  army.  No  Military  Lodges 
existed  in  the  Southern  army,  and  he  therefore 
applied  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania  for 
a  warrant  ^o  hold  one  in  the  line  under  his  com- 
mand, and  a  warrant  was  granted,  constituting  him 
its  Master.  This  Lodge  was  numbered  27  on  the. 
Pennsylvania  Grand  Lodge  registry.  Its  warrant  bore 
date,  April  4,  1780. 

During  the  same  year  the  battle  of  Camden,  in  South 
Carolina,  occurred,  in  which, .  although  the  Americans 
were  defeated  by  CORNWALLIS,  General  GIST  won  for 
himself  an  imperishable  renown.  Even  after  the  battle 
was  irretrievably  lost,  it  is  said  that  he  rode  from  point 
to  point,  amidst  a  storm  of  fire,  and  by  his  own  enthu- 
siasm and  bravery  preserved  his  broken  troops  from 
annihilation.  He  was  afterwards  engaged  in  the  con- 
flict at  Yorktown,  in  1781,  and  had  the  proud  satisfac- 
tion of  seeing  the  haughty  CORNWALLIS  become  a 
captive  to  American  bravery. 

After  the  capture  of  CORNWALLIS,  General  GIST  joined 
the  southern  division  of  the  army  under  General 


394  WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEL 

GBEENE  ;  and  when  the  army  was  remodelled  in  1782, 
General  GREENE  gave  him  the  command  of  the  "  light 
corps."  It  was  a  part  of  his  command,  under  General 
LAURENS,  that  dealt  one  of  the  last  blows  to  the  enemy 
in  an  engagement  on  the  banks  of  the  Combahee.  Thus 
was  it  the  fortune  of  General  GIST  to  fight  gallantly  for 
his  country  from  the  commencement  to  the  close  of  the 
war.  He  had  heard  its  first  clarion  notes  and  its  last 
battle-shout ;  and  when  it  was  closed,  he  retired  to  a 
plantation  which  he  had  purchased  near  Charleston, 
in  South  Carolina,  and,  like  WASHINGTON,  engaged  in 
agricultural  pursuits. 

The  warrant  from  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania 
to  General  GIST,  empowering  him  to  hold  Lodges  in 
the  Maryland  line  of  the  army,  was,  by  resolution  of 
that  Grand  Lodge,  vacated  at  the  close  of  the  war  ; 
but  in  1786  another  was  granted  to  him  to  hold  a 
Local  Lodge,  with  the  same  registry  number  (27),  at 
Charleston,  South  Carolina,  by  the  same  Grand  Body. 
This  warrant  constituted  General  MORDECAI  GIST,  Mas- 
ter, and  THOMAS  B.  BOWEN  and  EPHRAIM  MITCHELL, 
Wardens.  In  1787  the  Lodges  of  Ancient  York 
Masons  in  South  Carolina  united  to  form  an  Inde- 
pendent Grand  Lodge  for  that  State;  and  of  this 
Grand  Body  General  GIST  became  the  first  Deputy 
Grand  Master. 

The  Hon.  WILLIAM  DRAYTON,  chief-justice  of  the 
State,  was  at  the  same  time  Grand  Master.  He  was 
the  first  Grand  Master  of  Ancient  York  Masons  in  that 
jurisdiction.  General  GIST  was  his  Deputy  in  1787-88- 
89,  and  succeeded  him  as  Grand  Master  in  1790,  and 
held  the  office  for  two  years,  when  he  was  succeeded 


WASHINGTON'S  MASONIC  COMPEERS.         395 

by  Major  THOMAS  B.  BOWEN,  who  had  been  his  first 
Senior  Warden  under  his  Pennsylvania  local  Lodge 
warrant. 

It  was  while  General  GIST  was  Grand  Master,  in 
1791,  that  WASHINGTON  visited,  as  President,  the 
Southern  States,  on  which  occasion  the  Masonic  cor- 
respondence between  these  two  distinguished  Brothers 
took  place  which  we  have  given  in  our  sketch  of  WASH- 
INGTON. It  was  the  last  official  act  of  General  GIST 
which  we  have  seen.  He  died  in  the  following  year, 
in  September  (1792),  leaving  two  sons,  one  of  whom  he 
named  INDEPENDENT,  and  the  other,  STATES.  He  was, 
at  the  time  of  his  death,  fifty  years  of  age. 


V 

of 


INDEX, 


Abbot,  Mrs.  Lydia,  243. 
Aberdeen.  Scotland,  372. 
Academy  at  Alexandria,  Va.,  107,  108. 

Chatham,  N.  C.,  349. 
Adam,  Eobert,  99,  100, 104,  107.  108,  203. 
Adams,  John,   40,  163,  185-187,   188,  34-S, 

349. 

Nathaniel,  224. 
Addison,  Eev.  Mr.,  200. 
Addresses,  Miscellaneous  . 

Alexandria  Lodge  to  Washington,  173, 

174. 
Army  Convention  to  American  Grand 

Masters,  56-58. 

Bland,  William,  on  the  death  of  Pey- 
ton Eandolph,  270. 
Boston,  Collection  of,  131,  147. 
Clarke,  Joseph,  at  Washington,  154- 

158. 

Davis,  Thomas,  on  the  death  of  Pey- 
ton Randolph,  272. 
Deneale,  Colonel,  to  James  Milnor, 


Grand    Lodge    of    Massachusetts    to 

Washington,  146, 147,  170. 
Grand    Lodge    of    Pennsylvania    to 

Washington,  141-143,  163-166. 
Grand   Lodse  of  South   Carolina  to 

Washington,  133,  134. 
Hitchcock,    Eev.    Dr.,    to    Military 

Lodge,  52. 
Hull,    Major    William,    to    Military 

Lodge,  52. 
King  David's  Lodsre  to  Washington, 

131, 132. 

King  Solomon's  Lodge  to  Washing- 
ton, 87. 
Martin,  Francis  Xavier,  on  the  death 

of  Eichard  Caswell,  853-358. 
Mifflin,  General,  to  Washington,  97. 
Milnor,  James,  to  Alexandria  Lodge, 

363,  864. 

Muir,  Eev.  Dr.,  at  Alexandria,  138, 139. 
Varnnm,   General,   at  Ehode  Island, 

3:31. 


Address  of  Washington  on  resigning  his 

commission,  96. 
Addresse?  on  the  death  of  Washington  : 

Biselo\v.  Dr.  Timothy,  223. 

Blake,  George,  223. 

Chaudron.  Simon,  215,  216 

Day.  Benjamin,  227,  228. 

Dick,  Dr.,  204,  205.  206-208. 

Grand  Master  of  Pennsylvania,  211- 
214. 

La  Grange,  Joseph  de,  215. 

Lee.  General  Henry,  214. 

Meweli,  Jonathan,  224. 

Morris,  Gouverneur,  219. 

Morton,  General  Jacob,  217. 

Swift,  Eev.  Mr.,  225. 
Ahiman  Eezon : 

Smith's,  Pa.,  72,  73,  229. 

Maryland,  176,  229. 

Virginia,  141. 
Albany,  83,  235,  252. 
Albert's  Tavern,  174. 
Alden,  Captain,  327. 

Alexandria,  Ya.,  99,  120,  123,  1:37-140,  150, 
200,  205. 

Academy  at,  107,108. 

Masonic  Lodges  at,  93-100,  103-105, 
107,  108,  109-116,  136-139,  150-15S, 
160-162,  173-176,  195,  196,  197-19U, 
204-208. 

Allen,  William,  238,  284,  285,  295,  302. 
Allison,  John,  99,  110,  113. 
American  George  Lodge,  141. 
American  Kniglithood  proposed,  90,  91. 
American    Union  Lodge.     (See  Military 

Lodges.) 

Anderson's  Constitutions,  2S3,  290. 
Andre,  Major,  387,  888. 
Anderson,  Jos.    J.,  339. 
Annapolis,  Md.,  35,  95-98,  314. 
Anne,  Queen,  234. 
Apron,  Washington's  Masonic,  83-85,  105- 

107, 162. 

Army  Lodges.    (See  Military  Lodges.) 
Army  Masonic  Convention,  56-59, 392,  88& 
Arnold,  General  B.,  387. 
August  a,  Ga.,  342. 


398 


LNDKX. 


Babcock,  Colonel,  249. 

Dal  I,  Colonel,  10. 

Baldwin,  Uov.  Asbbel,  374. 

Baltimore,  1*3.  890,  W I. 

r,;irnicl,  A1.1H-,  1 73-184. 

r.arilett,  Josiah,  147,  185,  221,  18ft, 

I'.ayntcr,  1'eter,  67. 

r>i-!e!,i-r,  Governor,  Mass.,  23?. 

hi'lch.T,  Andrew,  289. 

IWton,  William,  187, 188. 

Bemley,  Rev.  Brother,  228. 

Berwick,  Me.,  829. 

Bfverley.  Susan,  261. 

LJilile  of  Washington's  Ancestors,  15,  16. 

*       Fredericksburg  L«»lsr..-.  •_•». 

British  Military  Lodge,  80,  81. 

"       bt.  John's  Lodge,  New  York,  124- 

126.  219. 

Sir  William  Johnson,  20S. 
i;i.-sc!l,  Ozias,  45. 
MiiM'low,  Dr.  Timothy,  75,  223. 
Blackstocka,  battle  ot  S42, 
B'air.  John,  47,  (ID, 'J' 
Wake,  George, 
Blaml,  Rev.  William,  270. 
B!aiu>v,  Lord,  254,  g 
Bloiiut,  William,  852. 
Bond,  Dr.  Thomas,  295. 
Boston,  22,  28,42,61,180,147, 171,185,  219- 

228,  '_>:!9-243,  232,  2S7-290,  294,  314,  370. 
I.owen,  Thomas  B.,  894. 
Bowen,  Jabez,  sketch  of,  821-823. 
Bovd,  Lieutenant  Thomas,  886,  337. 
BrAddock,  General,  28,  262,  804 
Brandvwine,  battle  of,  47,  830,  886. 
Brant,  Joseph,  251,  388,  885,  386,  337. 

»     Moll?,  251. 

British  Military  Lodges,  80-82,  75-77. 
Brooke  Lodge,  Va.,  193,  205,  206. 
Brooklyn,  880. 
Brooks,  Captain  Christopher,  16. 

"       John,  Colonel,  b6. 
Brown,  Prentice,  56. 
Brown,  Dr.,  195. 
Brunswick,  Lodges  of,  C4. 
Buchan,  Earl  of,  148. 
Bunker  Hill,  battle  of,  41. 
Butler,  Colonel,  833,  835-337 
JJvles,  Daniel,  295. 
"  "     itev.  Dr.  Mather,  811. 


Caldwell,  Eev.  Dr.,  849. 
Cambridge,  Eng.,  24. 

Mass..  41,  297,  380,  379. 
Camden,  S.  C.,  349  352,  393. 
Campbell,  Daniel,  23. 
('amp  Lodges.  (See  Military  Lodges.) 
Canada,  80,  25S,  316,  830,  882. 
'nnotocnrius,  Washington's  Indian  name, 

?ape  Francois,  70. 

United  States,  139,  140,  150-160. 


Carroll,  lion.  Daniel,  i:J7,  158. 

Carp,  John,  2S7. 

Carthagena,  19. 

CassouT.    (See  Watson  to.  Cassoul.) 

Caswell  Brotherhood,  N.  C.,  858. 

<  V\vdl,  Kichard,  sketch  of,  350-309. 

Catawba  River. 

Caughnawaga,  246,  247. 

Cave,  Washington  Masonic,  82. 

Cayugas.    (See  Iroquois.) 

Chase,  Major  Thorn , 

Chapel  Hill,  N.  C.,  84a 

Chapman,  James,  45. 

Charleston,    B.  C.,   23,  153-185,   847,  8G« 

894. 

Charlton,  Edward,  265. 
Chatham  Academy,  849. 
Chatidron.  Simon,  215. 
Cheshire,  Ct,  874 
Christ  church,  Phila.,  299. 
Cincinnati,  Society  of,  89,  90,   02,  93,  129 

210,  8S1. 
Clap,  President  of  Yale,  313. 

"     Mary,8ia 

Clark,  Peleg,  G.  M.,  R.  I.,  226. 
"      Colonel  Joel,  42,  45,  46. 
"     Colonel,  842. 
Clarke,  Joseph,  G.  M.  p.t,  Md.,  150, 15i-l«0 

-        County,  Va.,  w. 
Clans,  Colonel  Daniel,  251, 252, 383. 
Clay,  llenry,  861. 
Cleaveland,  William,  45. 
Clinton,  General,  331,  334,  871. 

Sir  Henry,  8^7 
Coat  of  arms,  Washington's.  7 

Frco  Masons',  71,  7'.'. 
Coats,  John,  50. 
Colden,  CadxvalladerD.,  218. 
College,  Cambridge,  Mass.,  297. 

Princeton,  N.  J.,  818, 319  847,  3SG. 
"        Providence,  P^.  I.,  32L 
«        Union,  N.  Y.,  319. 
"       William  and  Mary,  Va.,  19,  261 

271. 
"        Yale,  Conn.,  812,  818,  321,   868 

869,  874. 

Columbia,  District  of,  136-140, 193. 
Combahee  Eiver,  894. 
Commissioners  on  D.  C..  137-140, 150-160 
Common  Council,  New  York,  216. 
Concord,  Mass.,  40. 
Conecogeague,  140. 
Connecticut,  Grand  Lodge  of,  190, 317,  318' 

820,  874. 
"  Grand  Master  of,  317,  818-320 

Lodges  of,  314,  315, 319,  820. 
Constitution  Island,  52. 
Constitutions,    Masonic,    71-73,   109,  141 

145-148,  176,  265,  2S3,  290,  861. 
Convention,  Army,  Masonic,  50-59 
Cooper,  Rev.  Dr.,  250. 
Copenhagen,  Lodges  at,  64. 
Cornbury,  Lord,  285. 

Corner-stone  of  Alexandria  Academy,  108, 
bridge   at    WiUUmsbun', 
Va.,  26^i 


INDEX. 


399 


Corner-stone  of  Capitol,  149-160. 

"  Federal  District,  136-139. 

"  University  of  North  Caro- 

lina, 348,  349. 

Cornwallis,  Lord,  7S-SO,  277,  3SS,  393. 
Coxe,  Daniel,  43,  234-236,  246,  204. 
Craik,  Dr.  James,  195.  196. 
Cranston,  Lord,  314. 
Cromwell,  Oliver,  16. 
Culpepper  County  records,  19. 
rummings,  Captain,  314. 
Gushing,  Judge,  149. 
Custis,  Daniel  Parke,  34. 

Martha,  widow  of,  34. 
"       Martha,  daughter  of,  84,  79. 
"       John  Parke,"son  of,  79,  189. 
"      George  Washington  Parke,   grand- 
son of.  80. 
•'       Elenor    Parke,  grand-daughter    of, 

80, 1S9. 
Cutler,  John,  G.  M.,  Mass.,  147, 143. 


J). 


Danvers,  Mass.,  376. 

Dartmouth  University,  339. 

Davie,  William  11.,  sketch  of,  345-349,  837. 

Davis,  Rev.  Thomas,  197-201,  272. 

Day,  Benjamin,  227,  223. 

Death  of,  Barton,  Colonel  William,  343. 

Braddock,  General,  28. 

Bovven,  Jabez,  323. 

Boyd,  Thomas,  337. 

Chapman,  James,  45. 

Clark,  Joel,  46. 

Coxe,  Daniel,  2:36. 

Custis,  John  Parke,  79. 

Custis,  Martha,  79. 

Davis,  Captain,  333,  3-34. 

Edwards,  Jonathan,  319. 

Edwards,  Pierpont,  320. 

Franklin,  Dr.  Benjamin,  299. 

Franklin,  William,  310. 

Fry,  Colonel,  27. 

Gleason,  Micajah,  45. 

Gridley,  Jeremy,  241. 

Johnson,  Sir  William,  253. 

Johnson,  Sir  John,  259. 

Jones,  Lieutenant,  333,  334. 

Montgomery,  Richard,  51. 

Oxnard,  Thomas,  241. 

Price,  Henry,  243. 

Randolph,  Edmund,  278. 

Randolph,  Sir  John,  261. 

Randolph,  Peyton,  41,  96,  209,  273. 

Sullivan,  General,  John,  309. 

Warren,  General  Joseph,  41. 

Washington,  Augustin,  16. 

Washington,  George,  194-196, 209, 2 16, 
219,224,  225,226,228,229. 

Washington,  Lawrence,  20. 
"  his  daughter,  20. 

Wooster,  General  David,  51,  316. 
Dedications,  Masonic,  to  Washington  : 

1st,  Smith's  sermon,  50. 


Dedications,  Masonic,  to  Washington  : 

2d,   Penn.  Ahiman  Rezon,  73. 

3d,  Masonio  constitution,  N.  Y.,  109. 

4th,        "  "        Virginia,  141. 

5th,        "  "        Mass.,  145. 

6th,  Dr.  Seabnry's  address,  191,  374. 

7th,  Rev.   M.  L.  Weem's  Pamphlet, 

191-193. 
Deneale,  Colonel    George,    114,  197,  204, 


Detroit,  256. 

Devonshire,  Eng.,  341. 

Dick,  Dr.  Elisha  Cr,  99,  137-139,  153, 160, 

195-203,  204,  206-208. 
Diggs,  Mr.,  90. 
DiTlen,  Charles,  266. 
Dobbs  County,  N.  C.,  350. 
Downs,  Miss  Elizabeth,  306. 
Drayton,  William  (Chief-Justice),  394. 
Dumfries,  Va.,  191. 
Dunrnore,  Lord,  268,  276. 
Dunn,  Samuel,  186,  220. 
Duplessis,  La  Barbier,  Peter,  143, 164. 
Durham,  N.  II.,  330. 


E. 


Ebenezer,  Ga.,  342. 
Edinburg,  University  of,  297. 
Edwards,  Pierpont,  sketch  of,  318-320. 
"        Rev.  Jonathan,  318, 319. 
"        Henry  W.,  320. 
Elsworth,  Mrs.,  348.    . 
Egremont,  Eng.,  345. 
Efbert,  Samuel,  343. 
Eliot,  John,  315. 
Ellicott,  Mr.,  137,  138. 
Elizabethtown,  N.  J.,  385. 
Eitham,  Va.,  79. 
Emerick,  General,  391. 
England,  Grand  Lodges  of.      (See  Grand 

Lodges.) 
Enos,  Captain,  878. 

F. 

Fairfax  Lord,  20. 

"        County,  records  of,  229,  230, 
Falkirk,  battle  of,  148.       ' 
Fanning,  Colonel,  371. 
Farewell  of  Washington  to  his  army,  93. 
"  to  the  country,  162-160. 

"  to  his  mother,  121. 

to  his  officers,  94. 
to  the  presidency,  167,  lt>8. 
to  the  Continental  Congress  9fi 
Federal  City,  140. 

District,  136-140, 198. 
Lodge,  D.  C.,  150,  198. 
Fiunie,  William,  266,  268. 
First  Lodge  of  Boston,  Mass.,  22,  242. 

Charleston,  S.  C.,  22.  240. 
Philadelphia,  22,   240,  28-4, 

285,  287-290,  301. 
Fitzvrliylsonn,  William  II.,  116, 


400 


INDEX. 


Florida,  378. 

Kort  Campus  Martiua,  382. 
"    Cumberland,  88. 
"    l>uquesne,2S,  29. 
•-   Necessity.  27. 
>•   Niagara,  832. 
"    Washington,  882. 
France.  77,  82,  83,  105,  176,  173,  179,  298, 

811.815,848,849,865. 
Francis,  Emperor  of  Germany,  804 
Franklin,  Dr.  Benjamin,  48,  90,  235,  264, 

800-306,811. 
sketch  of,  281-299. 
"         William,  sketch  of,  800-311. 
"        William  Temple,  810. 
"        Chapter,  Connecticut,  820. 
Fredericksburg,  Va.,  16,  20,  24,  80.  121,  227. 
Fredericksburg  Lodge,  21,  23,  24, 82,  2-J7. 
Frederick  the  Great,  148. 
freemason's  coat  of  arms,  71. 

"  Magazine  (London),  173. 

French  Lodges,  25,  298. 
Fry,  Colonel,  27. 
Funeral  ceremonies  of  Richard  CttwrC, 

853-357. 
Funeral  ceremonies  of  Franklin,  Benjamin, 

299 
Funeral  ceremonies  of  Randolph,  Peyton, 

•J  7 1,272. 

funeral  ceremonies  of  Washington  in 
Alexandria,  203-208, 
Boston,  21  !• 
Connecticut,  226. 
Fredericksburg,  Va.,  227-22:>. 
Mount  Vernon,  199-208. 
New  Hampshire,  223-22.1. 
New  York,  216-219. 
Philadelphia,  JJW-21G. 
Rhode  Island,  226. 
Vermont,  -J 


G. 


Gait,  James,  266-26S. 
Gait,  John  Minson,  265,  266,  268. 
Gates,  General,  830,  852,  893. 
General  Grand-Master.    (See  Grand  Mas- 
ter General.) 
Genesee,  N.  Y.,  337. 
George,  king  of  England,  370,  S'3 
Georgetown,  D.  C.,  123,  139, 150,    98. 
Georgia,  86,  841. 

"    Grand-master  of,  340. 
Germanicus,  80. 

Gtrmantown,  Pa,  47,  296,331,  391. 
Germany,  65. 
Giles,  James,  109. 

Gillis,  Dr.  James,  161, 173, 174,  203. 
Gilpin,  Colonel  George,  200. 
Gist,  Mordecai,  56, 133-136. 

"    sketch  of,  890-395 
Oilman,  Governor,  224. 
Gleason,  Micajah,  45. 
Goelet,  Fjancis,  246. 
Golden  Urn,  221-223. 
Golden  Medal,  223. 


Gore,  Nathaniel,  45. 
Graham,  Charles,  55. 
Grand  Lodges: 

Connecticut,  190,  315-32". 
England  (Moderns),  23,  31,  32. 

A  314, 

893. 

England  (Ancients),  89,  72,  2-*  1. 
Franco,  L'Orient  o{ 
Georgia,  84 
Ireland,  80, 89,  75. 
Maryland,  150,  176-178,  187.  1- 
Massaohusetts  (Ancient.-),  39,  46,  47, 

58,  60-69,  8*4 
Massachusetts  (Modern*),  23. 

58, 'J:  ••-515. 

Massachusetts  (United),  145-148, 170- 

17-.',  1*5-187,21!'  -: 
New  Hampshire,  224,  225,  329,  388. 
New  Jersey. 
New  York  (Ancient^),  108,  109,  124, 

216-219,  866.  867,  871. 
New  York  (Moderns),  46,  246,  254- 

256,:'-71. 

North  Carolina,  345-349,  350-359. 
Ohio,  883. 
Pennsylvania  (Ancient*),  39,  49,  60, 

58-74,  90,109-111, 135,141-144  168- 

166,  211-215,  229,  299,  361-866,  888, 

891,  894 
Pennsylvania  (Moderns).  89,  4C,  2S4, 

2S7-290,  296,  299,  801,  306. 
Khode  Island,  226,  323. 
Scotland,  81,  82,  89. 
South  Carolina,  133-180. 
Sweden,  64. 
Vermont,  226. 
Virginia,  47,  58,  60,  67,  109-116,  141, 

7S868. 
Grand  Masters,  Provincial : 

Coxe,  Daniel,  43,  234-237,  240. 

Elbert,  Samuel,  843. 

Franklin,  Benjamin,  43,  2S1-299. 

Goelet,  Francis,  -M<'>. 

Gridley,  Jeremy,  241. 

Harrison,  George,  77,  24G,  252,  256. 

Johnson,  Sir  John,  46,  254-259. 

Oxnard,  Thomas,  23,  295,  814,  315. 

Price,  Henry,  22,   23,  234-244,  2S6- 

290. 

Randolph,  Peyton.  41,  46,  260-274. 
Rigijs,  Richard,  246. 
Rowe,  John,  42.  241,  322. 
Tomlinson,  Robert,  241. 
Warren,  Joseph,  41,  46. 
Grand  Masters,  Independent  (American) 
Adams,  Nathaniel,  224. 
Bartlett,  Josiah,  IS6,  221.  222. 
Blair.  John,  47,  60. 
Uowen,  Jabez.  321-323. 
Caswell.  Richard.  350-359. 
Clark,  Peleg,  226 
Cutler,  John,  147, 148. 
Davic,  William  R.,  845-849. 
Day,  Benjamin,  227-229. 
Drnvton,  William,  394. 


INDEX. 


401 


Grand  Masters,  Independent  (American): 

Dunn,  Samuel,  220. 

Edwards.  Pierpont,  318-320. 

Gist,  Mordecai,  133-135,  390-398. 

Greenleaf,  Simon,  53. 

Jackson,  Andrew.  344 

Jackson,  Hall,  344. 

Jackson,  James,  340,  343,  344. 

Judd,  William,  320. 

Livingston,  Eobert  E.,  124,  126. 

Miluor,  Rev.  Dr.  James,  359-363. 
Dr.  William,  368. 

Putnam,  Eufus,  875-3S4. 

Randolph,  Edmund,  110, 112-114,  275- 
280. 

Eevere,  Paul,  171,  221,  222. 

Smith,  Jonathan  Bayard,  143,211-215. 

Smith,  William  Moore,  164-166. 

Stephens,  William.  343. 

Sullivan,  General  John,  329,  338. 

\Varren,  John,  221,  222. 

Webb,  Joseph,  47,  60-69. 
Grand  Masters  (foreign) : 

Blaney,  Lord,  255. 

Buchan,  Efirl  of,  148. 

Cranston,  Lord,  314. 

Frederick  the  Great,  148. 

Montacute,  Lord,  237. 

Norfolk,  Duke  of,  234. 

Petre,  Lord,  264-266. 
Grand  Master  General  of  America,  Wash- 
ington  proposed  as,  51,  58-71,  78,  159, 
392. 

Grange,  Joseph  de  la,  215. 
Greene,   General  Nathaniel,  90,  330,  346, 

388,  394. 
Greenleaf,  Captain  Moses,  52. 

"          Simon,  53. 
Greenway,  Joseph,  116. 
Gregory,  Mrs.  Mildred,  16. 
Gridley,  Colonel  Eichard,  42. 

"  Jeremy,  241. 
Gulford,  battle  of,  346. 
Gustavus  Third  of  Sweden,  92. 

II. 

Ilalkerson,  Dr.  Eobert,  23, 

llallate,  Stephen,  153. 

Halifax,  Lord,  806. 

Halifax.  N.  C.,  846,  348. 

Hamburg,  64. 

Hamilton,  James,  287,  291. 

Hancock,  John,  40,  130,  269. 

Handy,  John,  226. 

Hanging  Eook,  battle  of,  346. 

Harmony  Council,  320. 

Hart,  Jonathan,  42,  45,  55,  382. 

Harrison,  George,  77,  246,  252,  256. 

llurvvood,  Thomas,  265,  263. 

Hawkins,  William,  69. 

Haswell,  Anthony,  225. 

Haven,  Dr.  Samuel,  125. 

Hays,  Moses  M.,  77,  78. 

llaywood,  Humphrey,  266. 

tlcmpstcad,  L.  I.,  368. 


Hendrick,  Indian  chief,  243,  249. 

Henry,  Patrick,  40,  278. 

Herbert,  William,  104. 

Heritage,  William.  350. 

Hiram"  Lodge,  New  Haven,  314,  315,  317, 

319,  320. 

History  of  Printing.  146. 
Hitchcock,  Eev.  Dr.  Euos,  52. 
Hoban,  James,  153 
Hobkirk's  Hill,  battle  of,  346. 
Hodgson,  William.  116. 
Hoffman,  Martin.  218. 
Holland  Lodge,  New  York,  1 18-121. 
Hopkins,  Klisha,  45. 

"         Governor,  321. 
Hopkinson,  Thomas,  287,  294. 
Hull,  Major  William,  52. 
Humphrey,  Colonel  David,  129. 
Hunter,  Eev.  Andrew,  389. 

"        William,  jr.,  110-116. 

"        Governor,  235. 
Hunting  Creek,  137. 
Husseltine,  James,  266. 
Hutchings,  Mr.,  90. 


Illuminism,  178-189. 

Indian  name  of  Washington,  27. 

Sir  William  John-son,  247. 

"          "  the    site   of   the    city  oj 

Washington,  140. 
Inglis,  Eev.  Dr.,  371. 
Ireland,  Grand  Lodge  of,  30,  39,  75. 

"        Military  Lodge  of,  30,  31. 
Iroquois,  246,  247,  258,  331-338. 
Irving,  Peter,  218. 
Isham,  Mary,  261. 

J. 

Jackson,  General  Andrew,  344. 
Jackson,  Dr.  Hall,  339,  344. 
Jackson,  Dr.  James,  of  Mass.,  844. 
Jackson,  General  James,  sketch  of,  340 

344. 

Jacobins  of  France,  178. 
Jamaica,  L.  I.,  370. 
Jarvis,  Eev.  Dr.  Abraham,  373,  374. 
Jefferson,  Thomas,  278,  382. 
Jenney,  Dr.,  303. 
Jewett,  Joseph,  45. 

Johnson,  Sir  William,  sketch  of,  245-258 
254,  255,  258. 

"         Sir  John,  sketch  of,  254-259,  46. 

250,332,335. 

Colonel  Guy,  250,  252,  253,  032. 
Hall,  253. 
Johnston-Caswell  Lodge,  N.  C.,  358. 

"         County,  351. 

"         Samuel,  350,  357. 
Johnstown,  N.  Y..  254. 
Jones,  General  Allen,  346. 
Jones'  Point,  137. 
Judd,  William,  320. 
Junto,  291. 


402 


INDEX. 


Kennelly  Thomas,  '_'.;:». 
King  David's  Lodge.  R.  I.,  77,  78,  130-132. 
Kin-  Su!oiiion'>  LniLv,  (Jr'.rL'i a.  ::!•_'. 
King  Solomon's  Lodge,  Ponghkccpsie,  86, 

81,  256. 
Knox,  General  Henry,  89,  94,  166,  167,  169, 

170. 
Ko^ciusko,  General,  381. 


Lafayette,  General,  78,  82,  88,  103-107,  229, 

.  :  5-28,  880,  866. 

L'AmtoittLodmt  Philadelphia,  215,  --'I.',. 
Lnncaster,  Pa.,  Lodg<- 
Lanijhton,  .Ii>M'|>h.  171,  IM'I. 
Laurens,  Genera 
Luwronce,  John,  56. 
Lear,  Tobias,  102,  195,  199,  221,  222. 
Lee,  General  Ih-nry,  •-".».  IMI.  -Jll,  -_M4. 
Lee,  General  Uiarl.-s.  ::-J7.  :'.:;». 
Leganbrepad,  Baron,  64. 
Leney,  Mr.,  rj.\ 
L'Enftrat,  Major.  MI'. 
Lenoir  County,  N.  D..S60. 
Leonard,  Captain  K..  ;!77. 
Letters  from  Washington  to 

Alexandria  Lodge,  100,  101.  174. 
Grand   Lodge  of  IfaaMChOMtttL  147, 

14S,  171.  IT'.'. 

Grand  Lodge  of  Maryland,  176,  177. 
"  "          Pennsylvania,      144, 

165,  166. 
"  "          South    Carolina,   135 

(noted),  895. 
his  wife  (noted),  40. 
King  David's  Lodge,  182,  133. 
Snyder,  Rev.  G.  W.,  181, 182,  188. 
Watson  &  Cassou!,  83.  S4. 
Weems,  Rev.  M.  L,  192.  193. 
Extracts  from  various  others,  100-102. 
Letter  to  Washington  from 

Alexandria  Lodge,  99, 172,  173,  174. 

Cape  Francois  (noted),  70. 

Grand  Lodge  of  Massachusetts,   146, 

147, 170, 171. 
Grand  Lodge  of  Maryland   (noted), 

176. 
Grand    Lodge  of  Pennsylvania,  143, 

164,  165. 
Grand  Lodge  of  South  Carolina,  133, 

134  (noted),  395. 

King  David's  Lodge,  R.  T.,  131,  132. 
Snyder,  Rev.  G.  W.,  179,  ISO  (noted 

i±->). 

Watson  &  Cassoul,  83,  84. 
Weems,  Rev.  M.  L.,  192,  193. 
Letters  Miscellaneous : 

Adams,  Mr.,  to  Grand  Lodge,  Massa- 
chusetts, 187. 
Alexandria   Lodge  to  Grand  Lodge, 

Virginia,  111. 

Babcock,  Colonel,  to  Eev.  Dr.  Cooper, 
(extract),  250. 


Lcit.Ts  Miscellaneous: 

Franklin,  Dr.,  to  Grand  Lodge,  Mosaa- 

••luiM'tts  283.  289. 
Franklin,  Dr.,  to  Henry  Price,  290 

"   his  father  (extracts 

"    Rev.  Dr.  Byles  (ex- 


Grand  Lodge,  Mass.,  to  John  Adams, 

Grand  Lodge,  Mass.,  to  Mrs.  Wash- 

ington, -J-JI. 
Grand  Lodge,  Pennsylvania,  to  John 

Blair  (noted),  60. 
Grand  Lodge,  Pennsylvania,  to  Colo- 

iu-1  William  Malcolm  (noted),  60. 
Grand  Lodire.  Pennsylvania,  to  Joseph 

NVt-b!.. 


Mr.  Lear  to  Grand  Lodge,  Massacbu- 

sett> 
Mr  L.-nr  to  Lodirc  No.  71,  Pennsylva- 

nia, 216. 
Lodge  No.  71,  Pennsylvania,  to  Mrs. 

Washington,  -ji:>. 
Nrttliunrarmy  U-t  tors  (noted),  88. 
Stra!ia-i,  Mr,  to  Mrs.    Franklin,  "(ex- 

trac! 
Webb,  Mr.,  to  Grand  Lodge,  Pennsyl- 

v.iiii:i.(Jl,62.  69. 
Williams,  Mr,  to  Alexandria  Lodge, 

(noted),  160,161. 
Lewis,  Lawrence,  107,  1S9. 

"       Lorenzo,  107. 
Lexington,  Mass:,  40,  879. 

«  N.  C.,849. 
Lincoln.  General,  90. 
Little,  William,  186. 

"       Colonel  Charles,  197,  200. 
LittlefleM,  William,  131.  l:J2. 
Livingston,  Robert  R.,  109,  124,  126. 

Edward,  118,  119. 
Locust  Hill,  891. 

Lodges,  Grand.     (See  Grand  Lodges.) 
Lodges,  Military.    (See  Military  Lodges.) 
Lodges,  English,  188. 
Lodct-s,  list  of: 

Alexandria,  No.  89.  Virginia,  98-100, 
105,  107-109,  112,  120, 

203. 

"  No.  22,  Virgi  n  ia,  1  06-1  07, 

1  10-1  16.  "137-139,  150- 
162,  172-175,  197-20S, 
862. 

AmericAn  George,  N.  C.,  141. 
Annapolis,  Maryland,  814. 
Brooke,  Virginia,  198,  205. 
Caswell  Brotherhood.  N.  C..  858. 
Davie,  William  R.,  North  Carolina,349. 
Davie,  349. 
Detroit,  256. 
Federal  D.  C.,  150,198. 
First  Lodge  in  Charleston.  S.  C.,  240. 
First  Lodge  in  Philadelphia,  240,  2S4, 

285,287-290,801. 

Fredericksburg,  Va.,  23,  24,  227-229. 
Hiram,  Ct.,  814,  315,  317,  319,  820. 


INDEX. 


403 


Lodges,  list  of : 

Holland,  New  York,  118-120. 
Ineffable,  Albany,  N.  Y.,  252,  253. 
Kin?  David's,  Rhode  Island,  77,  78, 

130,  132. 

King  Solomon's,  New  York,  80,  87,  256. 
King  Solomon's,  Georgia,  342. 
L'Amenite,  Pennsylvania,  215,  216. 
Lancaster,  No.  43,  Pennsylvania,  43. 
Masters,  Boston,  242. 
Montgomery,  New  York,  77. 
No.  2,  Philadelphia,  117,  113. 

•'  3,  Philadelphia,  800,  367. 

"    9,  Virginia,  78. 

•'  31,  Pennsylvania,  300,  861. 

"  50,  Virginia,  191. 

"  59,  Virginia,  211. 

"  61,  Pennsylvania,  83 4. 
Potomac,  D.  C.,  150,  153, 193. 
Royal  George;  North  Carolina,  141. 
Royal  White  Hart,  34S. 

at  St.  James's,  Eng ,  255. 


Rural  Arnity,  Pennsylvania,  3o5. 

St.  Andrew's,  Boston,  183. 

St.  George's,  New  York,  256. 

St.  John's,  Boston,  225,  239,  240,  314. 

Newport,  It.  I .,  314 
"         Newark,  N.  J .  190. 

New  York,  124,  126. 
"         Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  240,  314, 

338. 
"         Providence,  E.  I.,  321-323, 

327,  331. 
St.  Patrick's,  New  York,  246,  252,  253, 

254,  255,  333. 

Somerset,  Connecticut,  373. 
Warren.  Maine,  67,  68. 
Williamsburg,  Virginia,  264-274,  276. 
Wooster,  Colchester,  Ct.,  317. 

"         New  Haven,  Ct,  317. 
Lodge  Alley,  Philadelphia,  301,  302. 
London  Freemason's  Magazine,  75,  173. 
Lyman,  Elisha,  315. 


Mnebias,  Maine,  67,  63. 

Machin,  Thomas,  56. 

Mackay,  Mungo,  147. 

Maffit,  Eev.  William,  200,  205,  208. 

Maine,  67,  68,  329. 

Malcolm,  Colonel  William,  60. 

Mansfield,  Samuel,  315. 

Marietta,  Ohio,  382-385. 

Mark  Master's  Circle,  106. 

Marsteller,  Colonel  Philip,  200. 

Marshall,  John,  78. 

Martin,  Francis  Xavier,  354. 

Martin,  Governor,  351. 

Miiryland,  66,  74, 135, 150, 153, 154, 176, 177, 

1S7,  229,  314,  350. 
Masonic    aprons    of    Washington.      (See 

aprons.) 

Masonic  constitutions.    (See  constitutions.) 
Masonic    Grand    Lodges.       (See    Grand 

Lodges.) 


Masonic  Lodges.     (See  Lodges.) 
Masonic  Grand  Masters.     (See  Grand  Mas- 
ters.) 
Masonic   medals    of    Washington.      (See 

medals.) 

Masonic  portrait  of  Washington.     (Front- 
ispiece.) 

Masonic  Army  Convention,  55,  56. 
Masons'  Hall,  Philadelphia,  801,  302. 
Massachusetts  Grand  Lodges.     (.See  Grand 

Lodges.) 
Massachusetts  Grand  Masters.    (See  Gran 

Masters.) 

Massachusetts  Lodges.     (See  Lodges.) 
Maxwell,  General,  3S6. 
McCrea.  Robert,  110,  203. 
Medal  Masonic,  70,  223,  29S. 
Mercer,  General,  857. 
Mewell,  Jonathan,  224. 
Middleton,  Dr.  Peter,  256. 
Middletown,  Conn.,  374. 
Mifflin,  General,  96,  97. 
Milnor,  Dr.  James,  10s  :    sketch  of  359- 

307. 

Milnor,  Dr.  William,  867. 
Military  Lodges,  list  of— 
American  : 

•'       St.  John's  Regimental,  44,  55, 

56,  74. 
"      American   Union,  42-46,   52. 

54-58,  74,  86. 380-382,  392. 
"      .Washington  No.  10,  52.  55,  56, 

74,  86,  141. 
"      No  19,  Pa.,  74. 
"      No.  20,  Pa.,  74. 
"      No.  27,  Pa.,  74, 135,  393,  394. 
"      No.  28,  Pa.,  74. 
"     No.  29,  Pa.,  74. 
"      No.  31,  Pa.,  74. 
"      No.  36,  Pa.,  74,  389. 
British,  30.  31,  32,  75-77,  371,  372. 
Mitchell,  Ephraim,  395. 
Mohawk  Valley,  246,  247,  250,  252,  333 

"         Indians.    (See  Iroquois.) 
Monmouth,  battle  of,  8S6. 
Montacute,  Lord,  237,  239. 
Montgomery,  General,  51,  317,  357. 
Montgomery  Lodge,  New  York,  77. 
Moultrie,  General,  341. 
Mount  Hope  Cemetery,  337, 
Mount  Vernon,  19,  30,  35,  40,  98,  105,  11", 
121,  123,  133,  169, 176,  181,  182,  192,  194- 
203,  215,  222. 
Morris,  Colonel,  23,  29. 
Morris,  Gouverneur,  219. 
Morristown,  N.  J.,  46,   54,  55,  56,  58,  83 

135,  391. 

Morse.  Rev.  Jedediah,  188, 189. 
Morton.  General  Jacob,  124,  216-218. 
Muir,  Rev.  James,  138,  200,  205,  203. 
Murray.  Mr.,  348. 
Museum,  Alexandria,  200. 


Nantes,  83. 
Neale,  Joseph,  19a 


N. 


INDEX. 


Neilson,  John,  23. 

Nelson.  General  Tboitltt,7& 

Nelson's  Point,  52. 

Newbern,  N.  ('.. 

New  Brunswick,  N.  J.,  869. 

Ncwl.urg,  52.  - 

New  Hampshire,  62,  66,  224,240  330,  833. 

New  Haven,  Ct.,  870,  874. 

New  Jersey,  46,  74,  234-286,  800,  807-310, 

819,  847. 

New  London,  Ct.,  868,  872. 
Newport,  U.  I.,  73,  180-133,  314,  825,  831. 
New  Providence,  Governor  of,  8U- 
Newtown,  (Elmira),  885. 
New  Windsor.  52. 
New  York  city.  •_'-.  ::i,  4.\  4fi,  93,  118-121, 

123-127,  180^  216-219,  810,  830,  365,  870, 

887. 

New  York,  State   of,   84,  85,  86  216,  234, 
237,  246,  247,  254,  257,  259,  819,  881. 

"   Grand  Lodge  of,  44,  46,  10S,  1U9,  216- 
219. 

"    Grand  Masters  of,  124,  126,  25T>,  256. 

"    Lodges  of,  74,  113-120,  l'24-r.'G.  '£15, 

•J.V2.  253,  254-256,  836. 
Niair:ira,  332. 

Nicholas,  Mi^s  Betsey,  277. 
Ninety-six,  battle  of,  846. 
Norfolk,  Duke  of.  234. 
Norristown,  Pa..  860. 
Norwjtlk,  Ct.,  373. 
Norwich,  Ct,,  190,  873. 
Nova  Scotia,  29. 

0. 

Ou'don.  Aaron,  sketch  of,  3S5-8S9. 

Ogeeche?,  341. 

Ohio,  26,  27,  29,  8S1,  382. 

Oliver,  Daniel,  171,  186,  220. 

Oneidas.    (See  Iroquois.) 

Onondaeas.     (See  Iroquois.) 

Orange  County,  N.  C.,  850. 

Overton.  Mr.,  325. 

Oxford  University,  297,  80fi,  873. 

Oxnard,  Thomas,  23,  241,  '295,  314. 

P. 

Palfrey,  Colonel  William,  60,  61,  63. 
Paoli/Battle  of,  391. 
Parsons,  Colonel  Samuel  II.,  42. 
Park,  Major  John,  42,  51. 
Patterson,  General  John,  52,  SO 
Payne,  Colonel,  200. 
Payne,  Mr.,  90. 

Peale,  C.  Wilson,  263,  269,  274. 
Pennsylvania,  State  of,  89,  46,  48,  56,  92, 
110, 163-165, 229,  234,  237,  236. 
"        Grand  Chapter  of,  861. 

Grand  Lod<;e  of,   36,  89,  49,  50, 
58-67,  69-75,  90,  110,  141.  142, 
211-214,  299,  834,  361,  866. 
"        Grand  Masters  of,  143,  164,  165, 
211-214,  231,  2S7-296,  302.  304. 
Pennsylvania,  Lodges  of,  23,  74,  117,' 118, 
215,  216,  238,  210,  802,  3C5,  884. 


Pepperell,  Colonel,  813. 

Peter  the  Gre.-i 

Petre,  Lord,  264-266. 

Petrekin,  Thomas,  19a 

Philadelphia,   2.J,  39,  47  49,  1 10.  117,  US 

183,  137,   14-',  141   11'.'.  H51-KJC.  109,  20i)- 

'216,  851,  859,  860,  365,  866,  867. 
Philanthropist,  191. 
Philosophical  Society,  291. 
Phillip.-e,  Miss.  28,  », 
Phillips,  Mr.,  250. 
Pickens,  General,  342. 
Pierce,  Colonel  John,  55. 
Pierpont,  Rev.  Jaint-. 
Plumsted,  William,  294.  295. 
Poor  Richard's  Almanac,  286. 
Port  Tobacco,   1 '.»:>. 
Port  Kent,  N.  Y.,  85. 
Portrait  of  '.Y^hm-ton,  Masonic  (Frontis 

piece),  160.  li'.-J. 

Portsmouth,  N.  H..  224,  240,  330,  833. 
Potomac   Lodge,  No.  9.   D.  C.,   150,  158, 

193. 

Ponghkeepsie,  N.  Y ,  86,  S7,  256. 
Powi-M.  Mr,  111. 
Pratt,  Henry.  294. 
1'iVM-ott.  General.  324-327.  880. 
Price,  Henry,  sketch  of.  233-244.      (Noted, 

!-..  -JM5,  290,  295) 
Princeton.  N.  J..  4(1. 
Proctor,  Colonel  Thomas,  51,  60,  164,  214. 

881. 

Proofs  of  a  Conspiracy,  179-181,  229. 
Providence,  R.  I.,  821-323,  824. 
Pulaski,  General,  347. 
Putnam,  Israel,  875,  877,  878. 
PiitnHin,  General  Kufus,  sketch  of,  375- 

884. 


Quaker  host  of  Washington,  48. 

"  "   General  Prescott,  826. 

Quann,  John. 
Queen  Anne,  '2ol. 


i:. 


Ramsey.  William,  09.  200. 
Ramsoi.r's  Mills,  battle  of,  34C. 
Randolph,    Peyton,    sketch    of,     260-274. 
(Noted,  40,  41,  46,  275,  276.) 
"         Edmund,    sketch   of,   275-2SO. 

(Noted,  260). 
Mrs.  Edmund,  277-279. 
Harrison,  265,  2G6. 
John,  275,  '270. 
John,  of  Roanoke,  844. 
Sir  John,  261.  275. 
Susan,  261. 
William,  261. 
Reading,  Ct,  51. 
Revere,  Paul,  44, 171,  221,  222. 
Richards,  George,  116. 

Rev.  George,  225. 
Richardson,  William,  847. 
Richmond,  Va.,  Ill,  115. 


INDEX. 


405 


Ridgcfleid,  317. 

Kiggs,  Hi  chard,  246. 

Roanoke,  344. 

Robison,  Professor  John,  178-189. 

Robinson,  Colonel  Bcverley,  28. 

Mr.,  263. 

Uobinson  House,  52,  381. 
Rochester,  N.  Y.,  337,  374. 
Rodgers,  Dr.,  334. 
lloslin  Castle,  334. 
Rowan,  Lodge  at,  298. 
Rowe,  John,  42,  241,  322. 
Uowsey,  John,  265,  266,  268. 
Uoxbury,  Mass.,  42,  43,  379. 
Uoynl  White  Hart  Lodge,  N.  C.,  348. 
Royal  Lodge,  Eng.,  255. 
Rutledge,  Mr.,  40. 


S. 


Sadler,  Mr.,  163. 

Salisbury,  N.  C.,  347. 

Sanford,  John,  56. 

•savannah,  341,  342. 

Scotland,  32,  70,  145,  804,  306. 

Scott,  Captain  Ezekiel,  42. 

Scott,  Robert  G.,  78. 

Seabury,  Dr.  Samuel,  sketch  of,   368-374. 

(Noted,  190,  191.) 
Seal  of  American  Union  Lodge,  43,  44. 

"       Fredericksburg  Lodge,  24. 
Seeker,  Archbishop,  373. 
Seixas,  Moses,  131,  132. 
Senecas.     (See  Iroquois.) 
Sherburne,  Henry,  131,  182. 
Shippen,  Joseph,  294,  295. 
Simeoe,  General,  391. 
Simins,  Colonel  Charles,  111,  197,  200. 
Skinner,  Abraham.  218. 
Smith,  Jonathan  Bayard,  143,  211-215. 

Rev.    Dr.  William,   49,   50.   60-67, 

71-73,  89,  90,  141,  164,  303. 
"       William  Moore,  164,  165. 
Snyder,  Rev.  G.  W.,  179,  184. 
Social   Club   proposed   by   Franklin,  283- 

286. 

Society  of  the  Cincinnati,  89-93,  129,  210. 
South  Carolina,  133,  341. 

Grand  Lodge  of,  36,   133. 
Grand  Master  of,  133-136. 
Lodges  of,  23,  136,  240. 
Sorrow  Lodge,  215. 
Sowrs,  Christopher,  296. 
Spanbergen,  Dr.  Frederick,  116. 
St.  Andrew's  Lodge,  Boston,  183. 
St..  George's  church,  New  York,  865-367. 
St.  George's  Lodsre,  N.  Y.,  256. 
St.  John's  Lodge,  Boston,  225,  239,  240. 
'•      Newark,  N.  J.,  190. 
"  "     Newport,  R.  I.,  314. 

"  "      New  York,  124-126. 

u  "      Portsmouth,  N.  II.,  240, 

314,  338. 

M     Providence,  E.  I.,  821- 
823,  327,  331. 


St.  John's  Regimental  Lodge,  44,  56,  74. 
St.  John  the  Baptist,  Festivals  of,  52,  86, 

104,  237,  242,  266,  286,  287,  302-304,  380 
St.  John  the  Evangelist,  Festivals  of,  49 

50,  54,  86,  98-100,  103,  141,  142,  163-165; 

203-205,  270,  322,  371,  392. 
St.  Louis,  90. 
St.  Patrick's  Lodge,  N.  Y.,  246,  252,  253. 

254,  255,  333,  336. 
St.  Paul's  church,  New  York,  127,  219,  31<\ 

372. 

St.  Peter's  church,  New  York,  369. 
St.  Petersburg,  64. 
Sta^g,  John,  118,  120. 
Staten  Island,  386. 
Stephens,  William,  343. 
Stephenson,  Clotworthy,  150. 

Rev.  Mr.,  229. 
Stirling,  Lord,  386. 
Steuben,  Baron,  89,  118,  119. 
Stuart,  Hon.  David,  137,  153. 
Stono  Ferry,  347. 
Straban,  Mr.,  305. 
Sullivan,  General  John,  sketch  of,  329-881 

886. 

Somerset  Lodge,  Ct.,  373. 
Sumter,  General,  346. 
Sundermania,  Duke  of,  64. 
Sweden,  Grand  Lodge  of,  64,  65. 
Swift,  Rev.  Mr.,  225. 
Syng,  Philip,  295. 


T. 


Tarleton,  General,  391. 
Taylor,  John,  258. 
Temple,  Masonic,  85,  86,  So. 
Tennison,  Archbishop.,  373. 
Thomas,  Isaiah,  146, 171. 
Thomas,  General,  379. 
Thompson,  Charles,  90. 
Thompson,  Brigadier-General,  310. 
Tichenor,  Isaacr  225. 
Tinker,  John,  Governor,  804. 
Tiosra,  334,  335,  337. 
Toasts,  Masonic,  51,  52,  139,  175,  804. 
Tollison,  Rev.  Mr.,  205. 
Tomlinson,  Robert,  241. 
Townsend,  Mass ,  243. 
Trenton,  N.  J.,  46. 
Trumbull,  Governor,  310. 
Tryon,  Governor,  316,  351. 
Tudor,  George,  56. 
Tun  Tavern,  284. 
"    Lodge,  285. 

Tupper,  Colonel  Benjamin,  52. 
Turner,  John,  265. 
Tuscaroras.    (See  Iroquois.) 
Tuttle,  Jehiel,  315. 


U. 

Union  College,  319. 

Union  of  Mass.  G.  Lodges,  145. 


406 


INDEX. 


United  party  for  /irtue  proposed  by  Frank- 
lin, 2S5. 
University  of  N.  C.,  848,  319. 

"  Fa.,  859. 
Urn,  Golden,  221-223. 

V. 

Valley  Forge,  47,  48,  831. 

Vanden  Broeck,  118-120,  213. 

Varniun,  General,  823,  881. 

Varus,  80. 

Vernon,  Admiral,  19. 

Vernon,  Mount,  I1.'.  JW,  86,  K  '.'%  I'1."-,  117, 

1-21,  123,  183,  16i),  170,  1S1,  1S2,  1!'-',  I'Jl, 

•_MH,  '215,  222. 


vV».ldill,  William,   114.  -JIM-2GS. 
IValrib's  Plant.il  ion.  347. 
IVallace,  Sir  William,  IK 
iValter,  Rev.  Dr.,  ! 
Ward,  Colonel,  83. 
IVarraghiiyagey,  247. 
Warren,  Sir  Peter,  '.'17. 
John,  2J1,  -22-2. 
Joseph,   General,  41.  4f.,  I 

273,  .S17,  857. 
Lodge,  67,  63. 
Warwick  Point,  825. 
Vashinu'ton  Benevolent  Society,  100. 
"  Chapter,  120,  121. 

"  City  of,  140,  153, 198,  844,  839. 

Coat  of  Arras,  72,  73. 
Lodge,  Military,  52,  74,  86. 
Masonic  Cave,  82. 
"  John,  first  American  ancestor 

of  George,  16. 
"  Lawrence,     grandfather     of 

George,  1C. 
"  Augustine,  father  of  George, 

10,  17,  ia 

"  Mary,  mother  of  George,  1C, 

18,  19,  20,  80.  81, 121. 

"  Martha,  wife  of  George,  34,  40, 

41,  79, 195,  215,  21(5,  230-822. 

"  Lawrence,  brother  of  George, 

19,  20. 
«•'           Lnnd,  20T. 

Washington,  George,    his  birth,    15,  16; 
Baptism,  16;  Death  of   his  father,  16;  ! 
Parental   instruction,    17;    His  love   of 
truth,  17,  IS ;  Faithfulness  of  his  mother,  j 
18 ;  Early  education,  19  ;  Obtains  com-  ; 
mission  as  midshipman,  19  ;  Engages  as  ' 
land  surveyor,  19,  20;  Accompanies  his 
brother  to  Barbadoes,  20 ;  Inherits  Mount 
Vernon,   20  ;   Commissioned  as  militia-  ; 
officer,  21;  Character  at  manhood,  81; 
Candidate  for  Masonry,  21  ;  Becomes  a 
Mason,  23;  Sent  to  the  Ohio,  26,  27;  His 
Indian   name,   27;    Takes   command  of 
Virginia  troops,  27;  First  campaign  and 
capitulation,    27;   Joins  General  "Brad- 
dock,  28;   Visits  Boston,  2S;   Becomes 


enamored  with  Miss  Phlllipse,  29;  Hi? 
'•  Lowland  Beauty,"  29;  Again  enters  the 
army.  •_".»;  BetifM  to  private  life,  80; 
British  Military  Lodge  claims  to  have 
made  him  a  Mason,  30,  81,  32 ;  Masonic 
cave,  82 ;  Elected  member  of  the  Colo- 
nial Assembly,  88:  ::4,  85; 
•io  life,  85,  86;  Member  of  Con- 
tinental Congress,  89, 40;  Electe(J  Com- 
mander-in-chief, 40;  T«kcs  command, 
41 ;  Military  Lodge  formed,  42;  His  army 
evacuates  New  York,  4U ;  Recommended 
to  Lod'.'e  of  Virginia  as  Grand  M 

IT;    At   pray 

His  statuo  Bt  Lancaster,  Pa.,  t8:  Attends 
•  ecU-hnitioM  nt  Philadelphia,  49, 
;.i>;  Sermon  dedicated  to  him,  5'J  ;  1'arkN 
ode,   51  ;    Masonic   •  vit.-iuls 

<v!ebr:ilion  mi  tin1  Htidson,  68; 
At  Morristown,  55;  Army  Masonic  con- 
vention?, 5.J-5S;  Elected  by  Pennsylvania 
G.  G.  Master.  -  letters  from 

Cape  Francois,  asking  for  lodge  warrant, 
TO;  11s  Masonic  fame  in  Scotland,  70 ; 
His  Masonic  medal,  7<>;  His  coat  of  ai  in.-, 
72,  78;  Masonic  constitution  of  Pennsyl- 
vania  dedicated  to  lii:n,  . 

M;i:id,  77,  7.s  ;  i.'aptures  Cornwal- 
Lo^es  his  stepson,  and  adopts  his 
two  youngest  children,  79,  80 ;  V 
mother  at  Fredericksburg,  80,  81 ;  Re- 
ri-ivis  letter  and  Masonic  regalia  from 
Watson  <fe  Cassoul,  83;  His  rcj. 
Orders  "Temple"  built,  86;  Visits  lodge 
in  Potighkeepsio,  86,  87;  Scenes  at  New- 
burg,  bT-s' ;  Beeomei  President  of  the 
Cincinnati, 89;  Proposed  honors  of  Amer- 
ican knighthood,  iK  91  ;  His  farewell  tD 
his  officers,  93-95;  liesigns  his  commis- 
sion, 95-97;  Returns  to  Mount  Vernon, 
98;  Receives  invitation  to  visit  lodge  in 
Alexandria,  99 ;  His  feelings  on  returning 
to  private  life,  100;  Visits  Alexandria 
Lodge,  and  elected  honorary  member, 
104,  105;  Presented  with  Masonic  rega- 
lia by  Lafayette,  105-107 ;  New  York 
Masonic  constitution  dedicated  to  him, 
1U9;  Becomes  Master  of  Alexandria 
Lodge,  110-116,-  Elected  President  of 
U.  8.,  117;  Elected  honorary  member 
of  Holland  Lodge,  1 18-120;  Visits  his 
mother,  121,  122;  Goes  to  New  York, 
I--,  Iii4;  Inaugurated  as  President,  124- 
127;  His  inaugural  address,  128;  Re- 
plies to  it,  123  ;  His  title,  128 ;  Etiquette 
of  Presidential  intercourse  established. 
128,  129 ;  Visits  the  New  England  States, 
129;  Misconception  of  Governor  Han- 
cock as  to  his  reception,  130;  Visits 
Rhode  Island,  130;  Address  to  him  from 
King  David's  Lodge,  130-133;  Returns 
to  Mount  Vernon,  133 ;  Visits  the  South- 
ern States,  133-1  ;j6;  Receives  letter  from 
Grand  Lodge  of  South  Carolina,  133, 
134;  his  reply  to  it,  134,  135;  Returns 
again  to  Mount  Vernon,  136;  Appoints 


INDEX. 


407 


Commissioners  to  lay  out  the  Federal 
District,  137;  Favors  their  choice  in  lo- 
cating the  capitol  on  the  north  side  of  the 
Potomac,  139-140;  It  receives  his  name, 
140;  His  name  extensively  used  for 
towns,  lodges,  etc.,  140, 141;  Masonic  con- 
stitution of  Virginia  dedicated  to  him, 
141  ;  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania  ad- 
dresses him,  141-143;  His  reply,  144; 
Mass,  constitutions  dedicated  to  him, 
145 ;  Address  from  Grand  Lodge  of  Mas- 
sachusetts, and  his  reply,  146-148;  Re- 
re.ives  presents  from  Frederick,  the 
Great,  and  the  Earl  of  Euchan,  148;  Is 
re-elected  President,  149 ;  His  second 
inauguration,  149;  Lays  the  corner-stone 
of  the  Capitol,  149-160 ;  General  Grand 
Master,  159;  His  Masonic  portrait  by 
Williams,  160-162.  His  Farewell  Ad- 
dress, 162;  Makes  allusions  in  it  to  se- 
cret societies,  162-163  ;  Receives  Address 
from  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania, 
163-166;  Ketires  from  the  presidency, 
167, 168 ;  Returns  to  Mount  Vernon,  169  ; 
Receives  address  from  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  Massachusetts,  170,  171 ;  His  reply, 
171,  172;  Receives  letter  from  his  own 
lodge  in  Alexandria,  172,  173;  Attends 
the  Lodge,  173;  Address  and  ceremo- 
nies, 173-175;  His  employments  at 
Mount  Vernon,  175,  176;  Appointed 
commander  of  provisional  army,  17(T; 
Receives  letter  from  Grand  Lodge  of 
Maryland,  with  a  copy  of  its  constitu- 
tion, 196  ;  His  reply,  196-197;  Receives 
letter  from  Mr.  Snyder,  with  a  book,  en- 
titled, "Proofs  of  a  Conspiracy,"  179; 
His  correspondence  with  Mr.  Snyder, 
179-183  ;  His  Masonic  character  publicly 
known,  188-189;  His  birthday  anniver- 
saries, 189-190;  Dr.  Samuel  Seabury 
dedicates  Masonic  address  to  him,  190- 
191 ;  Rev.  Mr.  Weems  dedicates  pamphlet 
to  him,  191, 192  ;  Their  correspondence, 
191-193;  His  last  summer  and  autumn, 
194;  Sickness  and  death,  194-197  ;  Fune- 
ral, 198-203 ;  Ceremonies  at  Alexandria 
204-208;  News  of  his  death  reaches  Phil- 
adelphia, 209,  210;  Congress  appoint  a 
day  for  funeral  ceremonies,  211 ;  Masonic 
fraternity  invited  as  mourners,  211 ;  Ma- 
sonic ceremonies  in  Philadelphia,  211,219: 
New  York,  216-219  ;  Boston,  219-222  : 


Lock  of  his  hair  deposited  in  Golden 
Urn,  220,  222 ;  Funeral  ceremonies  in 
New  Hampshire,  224,  225;  In  Vermont 
225;  In  Rhode  Island,  226;  In  Connec 
ticnt,  226;  Virginia,  227,228;  Masonic 
articles  inventoried  in  his  estate,  229-230 

Washington,  George,  noted  in  Compeers 
261,  262,  272,  276,  278,  307,  321,  326,  330 
332,  333,  348,  373,  379,  382,  3S6-3S8,  892- 
395. 

Watson,  Elkanah,  83-85,  103. 

Watson  &  Cassoul,  83,  84,  106,  107,  1G2, 
229. 

Wayne,  General  Anthony,  90,  342,  3S2. 

Webb,  Joseph,  47,  60-67. 

Weems,  Rev.  M.  L ,  191-193. 

Weise's  tavern,  104.  137. 

Weiser,  Conrad,  296. 

Westmoreland,  Va,  16,  211. 

Westchester,  369,  370. 

West  Point,  52,  86,  380,  3S1. 

Whitehaven,  Eng.,  345. 

White,  Rev.  Dr.," 214. 

Whitemarsh,  391. 

Whittier,  the  poet,  328. 

Whiting,  Mrs.  Beverlcy,  16. 

Wilcocks,  William,  118-120. 

Williams,  Otho  II.,  45,  56,  392. 

Williams,  Mr.,  portrait-painter,  160-162. 

Williams,  Mr.,  of  Philadelphia,  163. 

Williamsburg,  Va.,  26,  35. 
"  Lodge,  47. 

Williamson,  Collin,  153. 

Willard,  Rev.  Mr.,  224. 

Witherspoon,  Dr.,  90,  386. 

Wolcott,  Mr.,  140. 

Wooster,  General  David,  51 ;    sketch   of, 

312-317. 

4i        Thomas,  317. 
"        Mrs.  Mary,  315. 

Wyllys,  Colonel  Samuel,  42. 
"       John  P.,  45. 

Wyoiaing,  Pa ,  334. 

Y. 

York,  Pa.,  4S. 

Yorktown,  Va.,  78,  87,  189,  38S 


Zion  Church,  214. 


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SICKELS,  33d.  12mo.  Cloth  ..........................................  I  25 

THE  MYSTIC  TIE  ;  or,  Facts  and  Opinions  illustrative  of  the 
Character  and  Tendency  of  Freemasonry.  By  A.  G.  MAOKET,  31.  D. 
Cloth,  $150.  Half  Morocco  ........................................... 

THE  SYMBOL  OF  GLORY,  showing  the  Object  and  End  of  Free- 

masonry.   By  GEORGE  OLIVER,  D.  D.    Cloth,  $1  50.   Half  Morocco....  9  «0  ; 


SIGNS  AND  SYMBOLS,  Illustrated  and  Explained  in  a  Course 
of  Twelve  Lectures  on  Freemasonry.  By  GEORGE  OLIVER,  D.  D. 
doth,  $150.  Half  Morocco  ...........................................  $250 

DIGEST  OF  MASONIC  LAW  ;  being  a  complete  Code  of  Regu- 
lations, Decisions,  and  Opinions  upon  questions  of  Masonic  Jurispru- 
dence. By  GEO.  W.  CHASE.  12mo.  Cloth  ..........  .  ................  150 

A  MIRROR  FOR  THE  JOHANNITE  MASON.    In  a  series  of  letters 

to  the  Right  Honorable  the  Earl  of  Aboyne.  By  Eev.  GEO.  OLIVER,  D.  D. 

THE  STAR  IN  THE  -EAST.  By  Rev.  GEORGE  OLIVER,  D.  D. 
{SIT*  Two  interesting  and  valuable  works  drought  together  in  on* 
volume.  Cloth,  $1  50.  Half  Morocco  .................................  250 

A  COMPARISON  OF  EGYPTIAN  SYMBOLS  WITH  THOSE  OF  THE 

HEBREWS.  By  FREDERICK  PORTAL.  Translated  from  the  French,  by 
JOHN  W.  SIMONS.-  Illustrated  with  some  fifty  cuts,  representing  the 
Ancient  Symbols,  and  accompanied  with  extended  explanations, 
which  rentier  it  very  entertaining  and  instructive.  Contents  :  Prin- 
ciples of  Symbology  ;  Application  to  Egyptian  Symbols,  Symbol  of 
Colors,  Symbol  of  the  Bible,  etc.  Cloth,  |l.OO.  Half  Morocco  ........  2  00 

THE    SPIRIT   OF   MASONRY.     By  WILLIAM   HUTCHINSON, 

F.^A.  S.  With  copious  Notes,  critical  and  explanatory,  by  Rev. 
GEORGE  OLIVER,  D.  D.  Cloth,  $1  50.  Half  Morocco  .................  2  50 

BOOK  OF  THE  COMMANDERY  ;  a  Monitor  for  the  Orders  of 
Masonic  Knighthood  ;  containing  its  Burial  Service  ;  an  improved  Sys- 
tem of  Tactics  and  Drill  ;  the  Ceremonies  of  Installation  for  Grand  and 
Subordinate  Commanderies  ;  a  List  of  the  Orders  of  Knighthood 
throughout  the  World  ;  and  the  Forms  of  Complaint  and  Appeal.  By 
JOHN  W.  SIMONS,  P.  G.  M.  Flexible  Cover—  full  gilt,  75  cents.  Tuck 
—full  gilt  .............................................  .  .................  1  00 

MANUAL  OF  THE  CHAPTER;    a  Monitor   for  Royal  Arch 

Masonry,  containing  the  Degrees  of  Mark  Master,  Past  Master,  Most 
Excellent  Master,  and  Royal  Arch  ;  together  with  the  Order  of  High- 
Priesthood  ;  the  Ceremonies  for  Installing  the  Officers  of  a  Chapter, 
with  Forms  of  Masonic  Documents.  By  JOHN  SHEVILLE,  Past  Grand 
High-Priest  of  New  Jersey,  and  JAMES  L.  GOULD,  Deputy  Grand  High- 
Pneet  of  Connecticut.  32mo.  Scarlet  and  gold  .......................  75 

SIGNET  OF  KING  SOLOMON  ;  or,  the  Freemason's  Daughter. 
By  AUG.  C.  L.  ARNOLD,  LL.D.  Splendidly  Illustrated  ................  1  25 

FREEMASON'S  MONITOR  ;  or,  Illustrations  of  Masonry.  By 
THOMAS  SMITH  WEBB,  Masonic  Lecturer.  With  Portrait,,  and  Embel- 
lished. Cloth  .........................................................  75 

THE  REVELATIONS  OF  A  SQUARE,  exhibiting  a  graphic  dis- 

play of  the  Sayings  and  Doings  of  Eminent  Free  and  Accepted  Masons, 
From  the  Revival  in  1717,  by  Dr.  Desaguliers,  to  the  Reunion  in  1813. 
By  GEO.  OLIVER,  D.  D.  Royal  duodecimo.  Cloth,  $1  50.  Half 
Morocco  ..........................................................  ....  2  50 

FAMILIAR  TREATISE  ON  THE  PRINCIPLES  AND  PRACTICE  OF 
MASONIC  JURISPRUDENCE.  By  JOHN  W.  SIMONS,  P.  G.  M.  Cloth...  1  50 

RATIONALE  AND  ETHICS  OF  FREEMASONRY  ;  or,  the  Masonic 

Institution  considered  as  a  means  of  Social  and  Individual  Progress. 

By  Aua.  C.  L.  ARNOLD,  LL.D.    Cloth,  $1  50.    Half  Morocco  ..........  2  50 

FREEMASON'S  HAND-BOOK.  By  WM.  H.  DREW  ----  Cloth.  75. 
Tuck  .........................................  .  ........................  1  00 

ORIGIN   AND  EARLY  HISTORY  OF  MASONRY.     By  G.  "W. 

1    00 


STATUTES  OF  THE  ANCIENT  AND  ACCEPTED  RITE.    By  A. 

PlKB...  ..     3   00 


THE  BOOK  OP  THE  ANCIENT  AND  ACCEPTED  SCOTTISH  RITK 
OP  FREEMASONRY:  containing  Instructions  in  all  tho  Degrees 
from  the  Third  to  the  Thirty-third  and  Last  Degree  of  the  Rite,  to- 
gether with  Ceremonies  of  Inauguration,  Institution,  Installation, 
Grand  Visitations,  Refections,  Lodges  of  Sorrow,  Adoption,  Consti- 
tutions, General  Regulations,  Calendar,  etc.  By  CHARLES  T.  McCLEN- 
ACHAN,  33°.  Embellished  with,  upwards  of  300  finely-executed  en- 
gravings, nearly  all  of  which  art  from  original  designs.  Cloth,  gilt,  $5  00 

MASONIC  LAW  AND  PRACTICE,  WITH  FORMS.    By  LUKE  A. 

LOCKWOOD,  Past  Grand  High-Priest  of  Connecticut 1  00 

DEB  FREIMAURER'S  HANDBUCH  (German) 73 

MORAL  DESIGN  or  FREEMASONRY.     By  S.  LAWRENCE 1  00 

BOOK  OF  THE  CHAPTER.    By  A.  G.  MACKEY,  M.  D 175 

M AJONIO  VOCAL  MANUAL.    By  ROBERT  MACOY per  doz.  3  00 

MANUAL  DE  LA  MASONERIA  (Spanish).  By  A.  CABSARD 10  00 

HISTORY  OP  THE  ANCIENT  AND  ACCEPTED  RITE.    By  ROBT.  B.  FOLOER.  6  00 

LEXICON  or  FREEMASONRY.    By  A.  G.  MACKEY 3  00 

MASONIC  JURISPRUDENCE.    ByA.G.  MACKEY 200 

I  POCKET  LIBRARY  AND  WORKING  MONIT OR.    By  CHASE 1  50 

'  MANUAL  OP  THE  LODGE.    By  A.  G.  MACKEY : 1  75 

I  FREEMASON'S  MANUAL.    By  K.  J.  STEWART 1  60 

MASONIC  TREBTLE-BOARD.     By  C.  W.  MOORE.  . .' 1  73 

KEYSTONE  OP  THE  MASONIC  ARCH.    By  CHARLES  SCOTT 1  2o 

MASTER  WORKMAN.    By  JOHN  K.  HALL Tuck,  75 

MASONIC  HARP.    By  GEORGE  W.  CHASE 1  00 

JURYMAN  MASON.    By  an  ENGLISH  RECTOR 25 

OUTLINES  OP  SPECULATIVE  FREEMASONRY.    By  TOWN 20 

MASON  IN  HIGH  PLACES.    By  an  ENGLISH  RECTOR 20 

Printed    Blank   Books  for   Lodge,  Chapter,  or 
Commandery. 

LODGE  OR  CHAPTER  REGISTER < each,  2  50 

RECEIPT  BOOKS  FOR  LODGE  OR  CHAPTER "  350 

PROPOSITION  BOOKS      "                 "        u  4  00 

DRAFT  BOOKS  FOR  LODGE  OR  CHAPTERS "  3  50 

VISITORS'  BOOK 3  50 

BLACK  BOOK 8  50 

ODE  CARDS  FOR  THE  LODGE per  dozen,  1  50 

ODE  CARDS  FOR  THE  CHAPTER 4i  150 

PETITIONS  FOR  MEMBERSHIP per  100,  1  25 

LEDGERS  AND  MINUTE-BOOKS.    LARGE  AND  SMALL  BIBLES. 

MASONIC  LEDGERS— a  new  article per  Quire,  2  50 

SECRETARY'S  RECEIPTS 8  50 

BOOK  OF  MARKS  FOR  CHAPTERS 4  00 

QUESTION  BOOKS  FOR  COMMANDERY 4  00 


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